


Love's Labour's Won

by CodenameJD



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Attack, Bodyswap, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Just constant fluff, Other tags will be added as they come up, School Play, Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, because this is fluff, but that will always be resolved by the chapter's end, come for the fluff, eventually, sleepover, stay for the fluff, there might be like the tiniest bit of angst in some chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-04-29 15:45:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 69,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14475939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodenameJD/pseuds/CodenameJD
Summary: After Ladybug collides with Adrien's open window, they begin a secret relationship. From there they must navigate akuma attacks, well-meaning-but-nosy friends, Ladybug confiding in Cat Noir, Adrien confiding in Marinette, a school play, a sleepover, a fake relationship as a cover-up, and so much more sheer nonsense.All while being adorably in love, learning how to be their best selves together.





	1. In Sickness and...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug just wants to make sure Adrien is okay.

Marinette knew it wasn’t the best move she’d ever made, but she’d wanted to check how Adrien was doing after having been off school sick. When Miss Bustier asked Nino to take Adrien his homework, Marinette tried to ask Nino to let her take it, but he’d just obtusely said he was more than happy to do so. Even with Alya’s help she hadn’t been able to get him to agree without explaining why.

“I don’t know, Nino, maybe because I’m desperately, madly in love with him, and can’t bear the thought of going the whole day without seeing him?” she sighed to herself out loud. “Have you considered that?”

She could practically hear Alya as she said it. _Girl, you need help._

So that was how Ladybug found herself running and swinging across the rooftops and streets of Paris towards the Agreste mansion. As she arrived on the rooftop of a house behind it, she paused, both to catch her breath and collect her thoughts.

_So there’s Adrien’s room. Okay, just a quick swing right across. I’ll glance in, he’ll probably be in bed and won’t even notice._

She took a deep breath and ran to the edge of the roof, threw her yoyo, and swang. As she reached the first pane of glass on Adrien’s wall of windows, Ladybug turned to glance through. Her eyes went straight to the bed, but while the covers were a mess, he wasn’t in it.

BAM!

Not looking forward, Ladybug hadn’t noticed as Adrien had pushed one of his windows open, and she’d slammed right into the glass like a bug on a windshield.

“L-Ladybug! Are you all right!? I’m so sorry! Here, please, come inside…” Adrien said, reaching out to grab hold of Ladybug’s arm before she collapsed, pulling her inside.

“Oh, gosh, Adrien, I’m so sorry!” Ladybug moaned as Adrien helped her to her feet inside. She rubbed a sore spot on the side of her head. “I didn’t want to disturb you, especially when you’re sick…”

“How’d you know I was sick?” he asked. Right on cue, he violently sneezed.

Ladybug blushed a little, and giggled. “Well, that’s a pretty good sign. And, well… I noticed you’re in your, um… pyjamas, early on a weekday afternoon.”

Adrien blushed deeply as he looked down at his pyjamas - a matching set of black with red Ladybug spots.

“Heh, yeah, I uh… I’m a… they were a gift?” he said, grinning a little too broadly. Ladybug giggled again. “Well, I’m glad you’re not too badly hurt.”

“Oh yeah, nothing to worry about, I’m pretty tough, you- wait, Adrien, are you all right?” she asked.

He had started shaking a little, and it was getting worse. He tried to shrug it off. “Oh, yeah, totally, don’t sweat it. I’m just a little warm from this fever, that’s why I was opening the window.”

Ladybug frowned and stepped towards Adrien, placing her hand on his forehead. She groaned as she realised she couldn’t properly feel his temperature through her suit.

“Could - could you turn around a moment. And don’t look,” she said. Adrien smiled, nodded, and obeyed, facing towards his room. “Spots off.”

Adrien held his breath at the words. Ladybug trusted him enough to transform back in front of him. He bit his lip, and looked up to his forehead as she reached around and pressed the back of her palm there.

“Ahh! Adrien! Warm!? You’re freezing! You don’t have a fever, you have hypothermia! You need to get back into bed, and wrap up warm, your body is playing tricks on you!”

“What are you talking about, I- I need to- cool down-” he said, grunting as he tried to pull his pyjama top up and off, getting it stuck around his head.

Marinette blushed. Hard. Nonetheless, she didn’t hesitate to pull Adrien’s top back down. She pushed hard against his back, and he did little to stop her moving him towards his bed.

“But, Ladybug, I- I…” Adrien mumbled, shuddering even as he said it.

At the edge of his bed, he turned around. Marinette gasped, but sighed when she realised he had his eyes firmly closed. She smiled fondly at his determined respect for her secret identity.

“No buts, Adrien. You need rest. Into bed, now!”

Marinette pushed Adrien down, and he couldn’t help but laugh a little as he fell. The laugh, however, turned into a cough. Marinette handed him a glass of water from his bedside table, which he finished. She smiled as she helped Adrien under his covers, and even giggled as she tucked him in.

“Now, please, get some sleep!” Marinette said.

“Okay,” Adrien said, and he yawned. “Whatever you say. My… Lady… bug…”

Marinette dashed to his bathroom to refill his glass. She was sure he probably didn’t usually drink tap water, but she didn’t want him to wake up without a drink, and it wasn’t as if she could go down to the kitchens.

By the time Marinette returned to Adrien’s side, he had already dozed off, breathing peacefully, his congested nose whistling slightly. Marinette tucked his fringe behind his ear, and sighed. She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Sleep well, Adrien,” she whispered softly. She walked back over to the window. Tikki had waited for her there, to give the pair some privacy. Marinette transformed, and Ladybug hopped onto the window ledge, quietly pushing the glass closed again behind her.

Plagg sighed and headbutted his bin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you can bear with me, the relationship begins in just a few chapters. We've got a looong way to go, though.
> 
> I seriously don't understand how Ladrien is the least popular side of the square, though. They're adorable; it's the side where they both for sure already have feelings for each other, and they're so blushy and sweet and just love each other so much... Like, it's not even my favourite side (Adrienette), but I still love it because they are PRECIOUS and deserve every happiness.
> 
> I intend to explore as many absurd fanfic tropes as I can squeeze in here if I get the chance, too. Sleepover? You bet. Secret relationship? That's the whole fic! Fake dating? Well, the premise makes it difficult, but I'll try! Let me know what I'm missing.


	2. In Health

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug goes to check if Adrien's feeling any better.

When Adrien wasn’t back in school the next day, Marinette wasn’t surprised, but she was disappointed. After the state he’d been in last night, she wanted to make sure he was doing okay.

That afternoon, Marinette headed straight home from school and worked hard to finish her homework quickly; she wanted to make sure she had nothing to worry about that evening whilst she was with Adrien. Luckily, she’d met up with Alya after visiting Adrien the day before and had help to get through most of it.

After dinner she told her parents she wanted to have a quiet night upstairs by herself. It was nothing they weren’t used to, so once she was upstairs and sure they wouldn’t be coming to check on her, she transformed and took off for the mansion.

This time Ladybug had a fully legitimate, non-creepy reason for wanting to see Adrien. At least, she felt so. With that in mind, Ladybug had no problem going right up to Adrien’s window. She lowered herself down from above, and, still supporting herself on her yoyo’s string, she knocked on the glass pane.

Adrien was sat at his desk in order to better focus on the reading Nino had brought him. He’d tried reading it in bed, but he’d kept on nodding off too often to get through much.

He started at the knock on his window. At the sight of Ladybug hanging outside and waving to him, his heart soared. He jumped up and made to run straight over, but he tripped on the cord of his Ladybug-patterned dressing gown.

It only took Adrien a moment to be back on his feet and pushing the window wide open.

“Adrien, I’m so sorry for startling you, are you all right?” Ladybug asked.

“Of course, Ladybug! I’m just, uh, surprised to see you. Please, come in,” Adrien said, stepping back. Ladybug kicked herself back off the glass in order to swing into the room.

“Well I wanted to check in and see if you’re doing any better, after last night.”

“Last night?”

Ladybug blinked. She tried to hide her minor panic that she’d lost her excuse for being there. “You don’t remember? I was here last night.” Adrien raised his eyebrows. “I was swinging by and hit your window? You invited me in?”

“I did!?” Adrien said. He scratched the back of his neck and laughed. “Wow, I don’t remember at all. I’ve been really sick.”

“I noticed,” Ladybug said, giggling. They walked further into the room together. “You were delirious with hypothermia, but you thought you were too hot. You, uh, tried to take off your pyjamas.”

“I did what!? Ah! I’m so sorry!” Adrien cried. He turned and collapsed onto his bed face first, burying his face in his pillow.

“No, no, honestly, it’s okay,” Ladybug said. Despite herself, she couldn’t help but smile; she was used to being the one embarrassed by her behaviour around Adrien, not the other way around. She sat down on his desk chair, and smiled at him as he looked up. “You were exhausted and seriously ill. But it seems like you’re doing better now though?”

“Yeah, much. I slept pretty much all day. Just trying to catch up on my homework,” he said, nodding to the work on his desk.

She turned and looked over the work. Naturally, Marinette had already done the same work, working together with Alya. It seemed Adrien was finding it difficult due to his absences.

“Algebra, huh? I could... help you with that… if you’d like,” Ladybug said, grinning broadly.

“Oh, wow, that’s - so thoughtful of you, but please, don’t go to any trouble, I can handle it,” Adrien said, sitting back up.

“Really? Because at the moment this polynomial says that 12 and -12 are the same thing.”

Adrien sighed as Ladybug smirked at him. He moved to the edge of his bed, and Ladybug rolled up next to him.

They worked through the problems together. As Marinette already knew from class, Adrien was able to pick up on his mistakes quickly, and he really didn’t need much help to understand what he was missing. It took another half hour or so before the pair were satisfied with the answers to each question.

“Wow. Thanks, Ladybug. So, do you normally make house calls and help fans with their homework, or am I special?” Adrien said. He smiled at Ladybug with his eyes closed.

She gulped, her eyes darting around the room, back to the window.

“Oh, well, uh, well, that’s just… I should probably be going,” she sighed, getting up from the chair.

“Wait, no, don’t go! Sorry, I don’t mean to pry… uh…” Adrien looked around his room frantically, looking for something. He settled on the games consoles on his desk. He thought back to their battle with Gamer. “You… play Mecha Strike, right?”

Ladybug followed Adrien’s eyes to the console and saw the pair of controllers sitting next to it. She grinned at Adrien.

They played for the next two hours. Marinette, of course, knew Adrien was one of the best players in Paris. At school he’d had the second highest score, beating out Max, and Max and Marinette had gone on to win the tournament. Adrien, on the other hand, knew Ladybug played the game, and had gotten to grips with the control of their robot better than he had - but that wasn’t the same thing as the game itself, and he’d had a lot of practice since then.

Despite that, Ladybug still destroyed him. Repeatedly. With relish.

Ladybug eventually started feeling bad about how badly she was beating him. She considered throwing the round and letting Adrien win. When his robot was destroyed and about to respawn, she glanced over at him, biting her lip. She was surprised to see Adrien was grinning broadly, with the tip of his tongue just poking through between his teeth. She squeaked and blushed, turning back to the game with a big goofy grin.

When the round ended, Adrien sighed, but laughed.

“Hold on a sec before the next round,” he said. Ladybug watched as he got up and rummaged through a drawer on the other side of his bed and came back with something.

“A friend gave me this to give me better luck while I’m playing. I’ve never had a chance to try it out though,” Adrien said, as he returned to his seated position. Ladybug gasped as he held up the charm she’d given him when they trained for the tournament together.

Ladybug’s goofy grin grew as they played the next round, and her blush grew darker every time she glanced over at the charm on his wrist. She ended up spending more time looking at it than the screen. Shockingly, she ended up losing that round.

After a few more rounds, trading wins back and forth, a knock came at the bedroom door.

“Ah! You’d better hide under the bed,” Adrien whispered, jumping up to answer the door.

He opened it a crack and found Nathalie standing there.

“Adrien, why have you been shouting so much?” she asked. She leant to the side, trying to peer through the door over Adrien’s head.

“Oh, sorry, I’ve just been playing games, uh, with Nino, online,” he said, grinning.

Nathalie scrutinised him, and placed a hand to his forehead. “Well, you seem to be doing a lot better now. Well enough to go back to school tomorrow. So you should get to bed, it’s midnight.”

“Wow, is it really? Guess I lost track of time. Will do, good night, Nathalie!” he said, pushing the door up closed.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s that late,” Ladybug said. She rolled out from under the bed and stood back up. “I should go.”

Adrien nodded, following her over to the window, smiling the whole time. She pushed open the glass, then turned back to him, catching him staring. As he looked away, blushing and trying to hide his grin, Ladybug smiled broadly back.

“I had a lot of fun this evening, Adrien. Even doing algebra was more fun with you. Thank you for inviting me in,” she said. Adrien gulped.

“Y-you’re welcome, Ladybug. Thank you for… for checking I was okay, and… well, for everything,” he said. Ladybug climbed onto the ledge and took out her yoyo. “Wait! Uh… would… would you… like to come over again some time? Maybe a little earlier in the day. We could...have dinner?”

Ladybug turned and looked back at him. She saw the eagerness and hope on his face and melted. “I’d… love to. How about this weekend? Saturday? 5 o’clock?”

“Sounds perfect, can’t wait!” he said.

“Goodnight, Adrien,” she said, and she took off into the night.

“Goodnight… my lady,” Adrien sighed, leaning on the window as he watched Ladybug swing away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a slow start, but hey, it's a slow burn, you get what you pay for :P
> 
> That said, I am trying to get through these early chapters so we can get to the good stuff quickly. Chapter 3 will be posted later tonight!


	3. Anticipation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is back in school and is very excited. Alya is the best friend.

Marinette arrived at school the next day typically late. After making her apologies, she slipped into seat and nodded to her friend as Alya passed Marinette her notes to catch up.

Nino snapped his fingers in front of Adrien’s face, but his best friend didn’t react. Adrien was resting his chin on his hand, leaning on the table, and staring off into space, smiling broadly. Nino looked back at Alya, shrugged, and shook his head.

“Well somebody seems to be in a good mood today,” Alya whispered to Marinette, leaning towards her.

“He’s probably just glad to be back at school after being so unwell, you know what he’s like,” Marinette said back. She was trying very hard not to pay attention to Adrien, more so than usual, and concentrate on the lesson. She thought she had a pretty good idea why Adrien was so happy, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up, just in case.

“If he’s so happy to be at school, then why isn’t he paying attention?” Alya shot back.

Marinette allowed herself to glance at Adrien, and soon found herself smiling, then staring at Adrien, mirroring his look. Alya silently prodded Nino to point this out, and they quietly chuckled at their friends together.

“So what’s it like up there?” Adrien eventually heard Nino ask. He started and looked around. Walking with Nino, he’d been on autopilot and followed his friend out of the classroom and down the steps at the front of the school, Alya and Marinette just ahead of them.

“What’s… what’s what like? Where?” Adrien shot back, figuring he must have missed part of Nino’s question.

“What’s it like up there _on cloud nine_ , where your head is clearly at!” Nino said, laughing and ruffling Adrien’s hair. Adrien chuckled back.

“Sorry, guess I’ve been kinda distracted, huh?” he said.

“A little? Adrien, your dad could have been in the room dancing in his underwear and you wouldn’t have noticed,” Alya said.

Adrien shuddered, saying nothing, while Nino had to lean on the wall from laughing so hard.

“Alya, leave him alone, he’s allowed to be happy without everyone making a big deal of it,” Marinette said. Alya raised her eyebrows at Marinette, but smiled.

Adrien smiled too at Marinette speaking up for him. “Thanks Marinette. But it’s ok. I had a rough few days, but a good night last night, and now that I’m better I should be having a good weekend coming up.”

Before Alya or Nino could ask for more details about his plans, Marinette spoke up again. “Yeah, hypothermia is no joke, huh..”

“Whoa, hold up, time out, you had _hypothermia_? What in the world, how!?” Nino cried. Marinette blanched, realising that Adrien hadn’t mentioned that. Fortunately, Alya and Nino were too distracted by their abject horror.

“Seriously, Adrien, did you go skinny dipping in the Seine or something?” Alya said.

“Don’t you guys think you’re overreacting a little? It’s just like… a fever, but cold instead of hot, right?” Marinette asked. Nino and Alya turned and frowned at Marinette.

“You don’t get hypothermia as a result of being sick, like you might a fever, you’ve gotta get dangerously cold for that,” Nino said. Marinette’s face fell, and the three turned to Adrien, who looked away.

“Well, we had a shoot for summer wear that went pretty late - they wanted it to look like a warm summer’s night, get it all ready for later in the year…” Adrien said shiftily, quickly adding, “but they had heaters all over the place!”

“Are they feeding you enough?” Alya asked, bending down to squint at Adrien’s arm as she poked it. “Right, that’s it, we’re getting you a proper lunch right now, let’s go! Nino, Marinette, bring him!”

“Uhhh…” Marinette managed to get out, before seeing Nino had grabbed Adrien’s arm and pinned him to his side. Adrien gave Marinette a resigned smile, and she laughed, grabbing Adrien’s other arm and practically frog marching him after Alya.

For the rest of the week, Alya ensured that the four of them went for lunch together, ostensibly so they could ensure Adrien was eating properly, but Marinette knew it was just so she could spend the time with Adrien.

On Friday, Chloé attempted to drag Adrien off for lunch with her, but Alya prevented this by grabbing him and carrying him in a fireman’s lift, running down the street with Adrien, screaming all the while. When Nino and Marinette caught up they remarked on how Alya was able to carry him so effortlessly, but she simply pointed out that Adrien weighed about the same as her two sisters.

Marinette was grateful for the effort Alya was putting in particularly for Adrien’s sake. As far as her own chances with Adrien were concerned, however, she was conflicted. Obviously, she wanted him to spontaneously ask her out so they could date for a few years, before getting married, having children, and growing old together. Naturally. But at the same time, the plans she had with Adrien at the weekend would be the first time she’d actually planned to spend time with Adrien by herself purely for the purposes of spending time with him. She really wasn’t sure what to expect of the next evening, but somehow it seemed like she had a chance of making progress as Ladybug… and she didn’t want Marinette to somehow get in the way of that.

She tried explaining as much to Tikki that evening. Tikki thought it would be best to instead show up, late, as Marinette, and try to spend time with him that way, but Marinette knew that Marinette showing up when he was so excited to see Ladybug would just be a let down. She couldn’t do that to Adrien. She wouldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, shush Tikki, who asked you. They're young and in love, let them have their absurd, awkward, trope-riddled fun XD
> 
> I'm posting these first few chapters somewhat more frequently than I will be posting them later on. Partly because I've not finished writing the fic yet, and partly because I want to get these two together already so the party can really start!
> 
> Hope you're enjoying it so far, and the tension isn't too great. Let me know down below :)


	4. Scrambled Eggs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien cooks eggs. Ladybug makes a connection between her two relationships with Adrien.

And so it was that Ladybug once again found herself swinging and running along through Paris towards the Agreste mansion. In contrast to her previous visits, it was still light out as she approached, though the sun was beginning to set. She waited on the roof for a few minutes, just to make sure she wasn’t earlier, before descending to knock on the glass.

Adrien was setting up a folding table in the middle of the room when Ladybug knocked. He looked up and beamed, setting it down and scrambling over. He managed to stay on his feet this time.

“Ladybug, hey! Sorry, I should really leave the window open for you when I know you’re coming. Please, come in, everything’s almost ready,” he said, leading Ladybug over to the table. He grabbed two folding chairs leaning on the wall and unfolded one for her. He stood behind the chair and pushed Ladybug in as she sat down.

Ladybug bit her lip and gave a small smile. “What is all this?”

Adrien just grinned and asked her to wait just a minute. He unfolded a tablecloth and threw it over the table, then left the room. He returned a minute later with two silver platters. Ladybug watched as he placed them on the table and pulled off each lid.

“Bon appétit!” he said, bowing as he unveiled the food.

“Scrambled eggs?” she asked, looking up at him. Adrien grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry. I couldn’t exactly explain to the kitchen staff why I needed two meals this evening, so I gave them all the night off, but because we have kitchen staff I’ve never really had to cook much, sooo scrambled eggs are kinda the best I can do. I’m sorry, I hope they’re okay…”

Ladybug looked at him, her eyes shimmering. “Y-You… Adrien. That’s so sweet of you, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me. Thank you.”

Adrien blushed and looked away to try, unsuccessfully, to hide his ear-to-ear grin.

“I’ve just always thought of scrambled eggs as a breakfast food, that’s all,” Ladybug added, smiling across the table.

“Are you telling me that you’ve never had breakfast for dinner before?” Adrien asked, his mouth hanging open. “Then I am honoured to share this special occasion with you.”

Ladybug laughed, and they settled in to enjoy their meal. The eggs were a little tough and rubbery, and could have done with a little more to flavour them, but that was irrelevant. As far as Ladybug was concerned, the eggs were perfect, because Adrien had put so much thought and effort into making them for her.

When they’d finished eating, Ladybug blushed as she realised Adrien was staring at her.

“Wh-what is it? Oh no, do I have egg on my face?” she asked, pulling out her yo-yo’s compact mirror to check her reflection. Adrien laughed.

“No, no. I just. I can’t believe it.”

“Can’t believe what?”

“I can’t believe I’m actually on a date with Ladybug.”

Ladybug was on fire. She had to be. That was the only explanation for how her face could possibly feel so hot, because it wasn’t possible for her to be blushing so hard and have so much blood in her cheeks and for her to still be alive. But, of course, that made sense. She couldn’t still be alive. Adrien Agreste had just called this a _date_ \- she was in heaven!

Adrien seemed to have misunderstood her total silence and burning cheeks, however. As he saw the colour rising in her cheeks, he in contrast went pale and stood up, backing away from the table in horror.

“Oh, gosh, Ladybug, I’m so sorry! I- I didn’t mean to be so presumptuous, that was so rude of me, I shouldn’t go saying things like that without talking about them with you first, I-”

He was rambling. Babbling. Finding more and more ways to describe his actions and apologise for near enough every interaction he’d ever had with her, saying he’d understand if she never wanted to talk to him again.

“Boy, now I feel like I’m the one with egg on my face,” he went on, laughing nervously at his joke, but struggling to hold back a giggling fit, even as he continued trying to apologise.

Ladybug stared at him, her blush fading. He was trying to desperately to be considerate, and kind, and respectful. It was adorable. His rambling was exactly the same as how she acted around him as Marinette. _Exactly the same as she was around him as Marinette._

_Oh._

She stood up from the table herself, walked around the table, grabbed his arms, and, even as he continued trying to apologise without daring to look at her, Ladybug kissed Adrien.

For a split second, Adrien kept trying to talk even as he felt her lips press against his. He could taste them, like strawberries. He soon melted into the kiss, placing his hands on her hips as her arms moved to wrap around his neck.

When she finally pulled away, Ladybug smiled as she saw that the colour had returned to Adrien’s cheeks, and he had been stunned into silence.

“There, that got you to stop. If you’d stopped babbling long enough for me to get a word in, you’d be able to hear me say that I want this to be a date,” Ladybug said. Adrien’s eyes and smile widened as Ladybug nodded at him.

They spent the next few hours playing various games starting with Mecha Strike, but moving on to new things when Adrien conceded his eighth consecutive loss, then moving to the sofa by the window to watch a movie. For most of the movie they happily carried on chatting, making fun of the film and laughing at all of its absurdities.

Towards the end of the film, however, the main characters confessed their true feelings of love to each other, and a palpable tension fell between the pair. Ladybug swallowed, and placed her hand on the cushion between them, staring fixedly at the screen. Adrien glanced down at it, and smiled. He placed his hand on top of hers, and squeezed.

“Hey, you’ve already kissed me, if you want to… hold hands, that’s- yeah, I want to too,” Adrien said. When Ladybug smiled at him, he blushed back. “S-so. So this is a date. I’ve got that. But, like are we just on _a_ date, or, or are we _dating_ , or-”

Ladybug groaned, and pressed her free hand to her forehead. “Ugh, I hate all the games and confusion. I like you! There! I said it! Wow, I actually said it.” She smiled at Adrien, and linked their fingers together. “I want this to be… whatever you want it to be.”

Adrien gulped and swallowed. “W-well. Well I want… this to be real. I want this to be for good. I like you too, Ladybug. I - I want to be your boyfriend!”

The last statement he shouted, and Ladybug was glad that there was nobody else in the house. “I want that too. To be your girlfriend that is, not to be your boyfriend!”

Adrien laughed. Then smiled. Then his eyes flitted down to Ladybug’s lips. He leaned in. She followed suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Now the real fun can begin.
> 
> I don't really get the idea of "dating". My partner and I were best friends for a few years before we became a couple, and then we were just that, a couple.
> 
> Either way these two are too adorable. I hope you're enjoying it so far! Thanks for the kudos, I'd love to hear more about what you think :)


	5. Kwami Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette catch up with their Kwamis on this unexpected turn of events.

When Ladybug eventually left later that evening, Adrien waved and watched her swing away until she was out of sight. Once he could no longer see her, he fell backwards and collapsed on the floor, giggling madly.

“Oh boy, he’s losing it,” Plagg sighed, hovering over Adrien’s head. “Oh well, happens to the best of us. No use crying over spilt milk. Guess I’ll go find a new Cat Noir.”

“Plagg! Can you believe it!” Adrien cried out, grabbing Plagg out of the air and pressing him to his cheek. “Ladybug is… my girlfriend!”

He rolled around laughing wildly at the very notion. Plagg sighed, shaking his head.

“Don’t you think it’s a little unfair to date her when she doesn’t know you’re her partner in crime-fighting?” Plagg asked. Adrien panted to catch his breath, then sat up.

“Well… Obviously I’d rather we could both tell each other the truth. But it’s just not that simple. Ladybug obviously has her secret identity, so she’d understand if I told her I had to keep some secrets. She doesn’t think it’s right for her and Cat Noir to tell each other, much less her and Adrien.”

“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Plagg sighed, flying back to his bin. “I’m just saying, keeping secrets from each other will only lead to heartbreak. Trust me.”

“Trust you?” Adrien asked, sniggering. He stood up and activated his automatic blinds. He then followed Plagg over towards his bed and changed into his pyjamas. “As if you know anything about loving anything besides cheese.”

Plagg’s voice echoed from inside the bin as he refused to get out. “A lot more than you might think, my friend. I’ve seen a lot of Cat Noir’s go ga-ga for a lot of Ladybugs. And honesty is always the best policy.”

Adrien frowned as he got into bed and turned off the lights, but only for a moment. He let Plagg’s words pass from his thoughts, reminiscing on the evening with Ladybug.

 

* * *

 

Across the city, Ladybug landed on her roof and, after a quick glance around to ensure nobody was watching, transformed back into Marinette.

Marinette took a deep breath. Then screamed.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Tikki! Can you believe it!?” she cried out, hopping from one foot to the other.

“Of course I can, Marinette, but more importantly, so will the rest of Paris if you don’t keep your voice down,” Tikki whispered, giggling as Marinette’s face became the picture of panic.

“Right, got it. Inside,” she said, opening the skylight and climbing down to her bed.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea though, Marinette? To be involved with someone as Ladybug,” Tikki asked. Marinette sighed, and flopped down.

“Well, it’s not perfect,” she conceded. “This definitely isn’t the way I’d have planned things out. But it just… sort of… happened. It felt right. I know it’s a risk, but as long as nobody finds out about it then there’s no harm, right?”

“Perhaps not, but how is that going to work out long term?” Tikki asked. Marinette blushed and looked away.

“Tikki, I’m 15, I’m not thinking about long term yet…”

Tikki frowned, and fluttered down to Marinette’s desk. Marinette looked over the edge of her bed and saw Tikki floating just above a stack of papers covered in variations of “Marinette Agreste”, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Agreste”, “Marinette Agreste-Dupain Cheng”, and even “Adrien Dupain-Cheng”. Tikki dug down until she found another pile of the same, but using the names she’d picked out for their three children less than a year after meeting Adrien.

“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point,” Marinette sighed. Regardless, she smiled. “Can you imagine Ladybug in a wedding dress?”

Despite it all, Tikki laughed along. “Your lucky charm would give you your bouquet!”

Marinette laughed back, smiling somewhat sadly at the pictures besides her bed. There were several of her with the whole class, including pictures of her with Adrien.

“And how do you feel about dating Adrien when he doesn’t know it’s one of his best friends under the mask?” Tikki asked, voicing Marinette’s thoughts aloud.

“Not great. Kinda lousy, to be honest… but it just… it feels right, Tikki. One day I’ll be able to explain the truth, and… I’ll just have to hope he understands. But he does want this relationship, even though he doesn’t know it's me - but he does know there’s someone under the mask. Surely it’ll be better to find out it's someone who knows him outside of that?”

Tikki said nothing at this. She did yawn, however, and flutter down onto Marinette’s pillow.

“You’re right Tikki. Gotta get some sleep. There’s no rush to figure all this out…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one today, but it's very much a self-contained scene, so it wouldn't work to just add on to another.


	6. Star-Crossed Dorks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Bustier's class discuss Shakespeare. Alya and Nino are disgustingly sweet.

Monday came around as suddenly and rudely as ever, though for Marinette, as ever, it seemed to roll around at least thirty minutes later than it did for everyone else. She snuck quietly into the classroom, waving apologetically at Miss Bustier, earning an eye roll and a smirk back.

Marinette moved swiftly to her seat. Nino nodded at Marinette as she passed, and Adrien raised his hand, smiling brightly. The faintest of blushes crossed her cheeks as she smiled back, though it darkened somewhat as her eyes found his lips and she thought about how just two days ago she’d actually _kissed_ those lips. She sighed as she sat down and it hit her that she couldn’t even celebrate with Alya.

With thanks to Alya’s notes, Marinette was able to catch up quickly, and she made sure to stay focused on the lesson after that point, despite how badly she just wanted to stare at the back of Adrien’s head. Her _boyfriend’s_ head.

Okay, so maybe Marinette spent a _little_ time staring at Adrien. But it was justified now, completely. Especially as, now more than ever, she couldn’t stare at him while he was looking.

The class had recently begun a unit on English literature, starting with the works of Shakespeare, and were today discussing Romeo & Juliet. After reading out the final scene to the class, Miss Bustier tasked them to discuss the titular characters' relationship in groups.

“Well, this won’t take long, it’s an open and shut case,” Alya said smugly.

“I guess so,” Adrien sighed with a soft smile. “After all, it’s one of the greatest love stories of all time.”

Alya looked appalled. “No, no, are you kidding me, Adrien? You don’t really buy that, do you? Their relationship was literally a tragedy!”

“Yeah, and it was such a tragedy because of how deep and powerful their love was,” Adrien said. He took on a slight frown, which was nothing compared to the tempestuous fury building in Alya’s eyes. She pushed her glasses back up.

“They were just kids, Adrien. Teenagers!”

“So they were our age. Are you saying people our age can’t be in love?”

“If that’s what you’re saying Alya, we may need to have a serious talk about our relationship,” Nino said. He was leaning back on his desk, and spoke up without otherwise moving, merely showing off a cocky grin.

“I’m not saying that at all,” Alya groaned, rolling her eyes at Nino and turning the look into something almost like a glare, if the corners of her mouth hadn’t twitched upwards so. “But look at all the chaos they caused, how many people ended up dead because of them…”

“But it really isn’t their fault at all, Alya,” Adrien said. “Their families are caught up in this insane feudal war for who-knows-what reason. If they’d just followed the kids’ example, not only would everyone have survived and been happy, but the two families could have been stronger together as a result, united by love.”

Alya sighed. She pressed her palm to her forehead, and shook her head. Trust Adrien to be so full of hope, optimism, and, well, love, as to be sunshine incarnate. She noticed, however, that her best friend had stayed silent throughout it all. There could be a number of reasons for this; perhaps she couldn’t bring herself to join Adrien in a group discussion; or she may have had nothing to contribute; but Alya suspected it was most likely that Marinette just wanted to avoid taking sides and upsetting someone. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, so Alya turned to her Marinette.

“What do you think, Marinette?”

Marinette fell back and knocked her notebook off the table at being put on the spot - not that she’d expected to get out of joining the conversation for the whole lesson. She looked between her friends: Alya, face screwed up with determination, but biting her lip regardless; Adrien, so calm, serene, sweetly smiling up at her as he waited for her to speak; and Nino, barely stifling an utter fit of giggles, hand covering his mouth, eyes darting rapidly between Alya and Adrien. Marinette sighed, and Alya realised before Marinette even began to speak that she’d made a terrible mistake.

“I don’t think love is like a simple crush, it’s not just feeling attracted to someone, or liking them. It’s a promise. It’s dedication. It’s saying that you care for someone so deeply that - that through it all, you want to be with them. It may not always last forever, it may not be as magical as it is in fairy tales, but I think because of that it’s even better, even more important. Love is precious, and when someone gives you their love...”

She paused, drawing her breath. She was deeply aware of Adrien, Alya, Adrien, Nino, and most importantly Adrien’s eyes on her. She could feel her hand shaking, and was afraid her nerves may give out at any moment, but she didn’t often dive so deep on this topic, about which she was so passionate. She steadied herself as best she could, determined to finish what she had started.

“...When someone gives you their love, and you love them in return - and not just like ‘in love’, but friends, family, anything - well… that’s worth everything.”

Marinette was dimly aware that the room had fallen silent.

“Wow,” Adrien whispered. Marinette forced herself to look at him, seeing his eyes sparkle. She quickly realised that was because of the tears building up in the corners. “That was… beautiful.”

“Yes, it certainly was,” Miss Bustier added, beaming fondly at Marinette. Marinette groaned as it hit her that in fact _all_ eyes in the room were on her - bar Chloé, who was more interested in her phone - and all ears had just heard her deliver her soliloquy.

“Whatever,” Chloé said, without looking up, and all eyes turned to her. “They’re both idiots anyway. Juliet should have just married Paris like her family wanted, he was crazy rich.”

“But she couldn’t do that, she loved Romeo!” Rose piped up.

The debate went on for the remainder of the class, with almost everyone chipping in at one stage or another - though Marinette didn’t add anything more after it began. When Adrien spoke up, she struggled to avoid staring and coming off as creepy, while still trying to show she was paying attention. She was forced to look away to hide her blush, however, when she realised that his analysis of Romeo appearing at Juliet’s window was drawing directly on his experience with Ladybug. She had to hide a different red-faced reaction when Kim compared Romeo and Juliet to Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Miss Bustier barely spoke again for the remainder of the class, letting the kids lead the discussion. She had more she’d intended to cover, but with the class so invested and passionately discussing the text, she couldn’t bring herself to interfere. The bell, on the other hand, could.

 

* * *

 

Despite _everything_ changing over the weekend, Nino and Alya had no idea, so nothing had changed when it came to the group’s lunch plans.

“So, Nino, I noticed you were awfully quiet back there,” Alya said, smirking as she rounded on her boyfriend. “Come on, spill it, what do you think?”

“Come on, Alya, you know me. I prefer not to take sides on these things,” Nino said, leaning back in his chair.

“Liar,” Adrien said, grinning broadly. He turned to Alya and went on, “he texted last night saying he was crying watching the Leonardo DiCaprio movie because it was so sweet!”

“It’s true, I got the same text,” Marinette added, “ _begging_ me not to say anything."

“I did not beg!” Nino shot back, but then he caught Alya’s glare. Pale-faced, he turned to Marinette and Adrien. “A plague! A plague o' both your houses!”

The group laughed, Alya included, though she shook her head. “Nino, I’m not mad at you for disagreeing with me. But I don’t like that you kept it from me. We should be honest with each other. And what is this, you texted everyone except me? I’m your girlfriend and I didn’t get a text all weekend?”

Alya was still smiling as she spoke, sounding concerned rather than angry. Nino smiled weakly and took Alya’s hand as he apologised. Watching their hands, Marinette awwed, but caught sight of Adrien in the corner of her eye. His face had fallen, and he was looking at his phone. Marinette had to stifle a gasp as she realised the problem.

With little she could do to fix the problem presently, Marinette set the thought aside to deal with as soon as possible, and instead opted to address the symptoms as best she could for now. She took out her phone.

Moments later, Adrien let out a little “Hm?” as he received a text. He chuckled as he read it, his eyes briefly flicking up to meet Marinette’s.

_They’re so cute I can’t tell if I should take a picture or throw up._

That smile directed her way, even after the weekend, filled her stomach with butterflies. Despite that, she still met Adrien’s eyes, smiled at him, and actually managed to wink. He looked down to reply.

_Better; film it. Post it online. Start a new viral sensation: loving and supporting your partner._

The reply made Marinette giggle, and she could feel Adrien’s grin directed at her cheek as she looked away. Even when he was trying to be goofy, he was still so cute.

The rest of the day passed rather slowly, now that Marinette knew she had something she needed to do after school. As much as she appreciated that since they’d been getting lunch together as a group she’d gotten to spend more time with Adrien, but at that moment all she wanted was to get out of there so she could go and spend more time with Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long today! In an ideal world the second scene at lunch would have been its own chapter, but it was much too short for that.
> 
> There's gonna be little bits of Shakespeare-y stuff here and there. Hence the title :P
> 
> Do people prefer longer chapters, or should I break it up into shorter chapters where it works? Let me know!


	7. The Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Adrien discuss how their relationship will work.

When the bell finally rang out to signal the end of the day, it was all Marinette could do not to immediately find somewhere to transform and swing off to Adrien’s house. Of course, if she did that she would inevitably get there before he did… though maybe Adrien wouldn’t mind coming home to find her waiting there for him?

No. Best to stick to the significantly less creepy plan of waiting for at least an hour first. They might be in a relationship now, but there was still such a thing as boundaries.

Marinette actually managed to hold out until 5 o’clock before she finally cracked and called Tikki into her earrings to swing over to Adrien’s house. To her dismay, however, when she dangled herself down in front of his bedroom window, she could see clearly that Adrien wasn’t there.

Ladybug racked her brains to try to think where he could be. Eventually, she realised that it was Monday, and Adrien had Chinese lessons. While she no longer memorised his every movement as she once did, Ladybug did still have Adrien’s regular fixed appointments etched into her brain. Despite that, spending more time with Adrien as Ladybug, she was pushing herself to separate her thought processes as Ladybug and Marinette to avoid suspicion, which meant trying to ignore as much as she could from knowing Adrien at school. It was exceptionally hard, because he was just so freaking adorable, but it did mean that his schedule was slipping her mind a little more.

One more reason to be there, to make these arrangements.

Ladybug only had to wait for ten minutes or so before she noticed the Agrestes’ car approaching the front of the house, and about another five minutes after that before Adrien entered his room. He didn’t notice Ladybug at first, walking in and shrugging off his bag dropping more than one kind of weight, Ladybug noticed, as he instantly became more relaxed.

Finally looking over at the window, Adrien’s face lit up, and Ladybug found herself blushing at the reaction in spite of herself.

“Ladybug! It’s so good to see you. I wasn’t expecting you today,” Adrien said, extending his hand to help her balance as she stepped onto the window ledge. Ladybug knelt down to reach Adrien’s hand before climbing down into the room. In truth, they both knew she didn’t need his help, but Ladybug appreciated it all the same; they may not have had a typical relationship, and Ladybug might be capable of all manner of acrobatic feats, but that didn’t mean she didn’t deserve or appreciate such sweet and kind gestures from her boyfriend.

_Her boyfriend!_

Ladybug cleared her thoughts to focus on the task at hand. “Yeah, that’s kinda why I came over at all. It hit me today that we have no real way to get in touch with each other.”

Adrien’s face was hard to read. His brow was raised, and his mouth was slightly open, not quite a smile. He sighed deeply as he spoke. “Yeah, I uh… I realised earlier today. I really wanted to text you. I… I missed you.”

Now he was smiling at her for sure, though a little weakly, a little sadly. He blushed. Ladybug couldn’t take it any more; she strode over to him and wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him to her tightly. Adrien melted into her, his arms snaking around her waist.

“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered into his ear. “Look, I… you don’t need to be embarrassed, or ashamed, or whatever, okay? I like you. A lot. Just as much as you like me. That’s what we said, right? No games. You’re my boyfriend. You’re allowed to miss me.”

Ladybug pulled back a little and smiled warmly at Adrien, until that warmth spread between them and showed itself on his face. He nodded, and to confirm his understanding, he kissed her.

When he pulled back after a few moments, Ladybug’s face was as red as her suit, though she still smiled broadly. She had to turn away, unable to hold back her giggles any more.

“You kissed me!” she said gazing up at him with utterly besotted eyes, prompting Adrien to laugh.

“Of course I did. You’re my girlfriend. And we’re not playing silly games, right?”

“Right,” Ladybug said, nodding. “And that’s rule 1.”

“Rule 1?” Adrien asked, watching as Ladybug walked across the room and went to sit on the edge of his bed. He followed, taking a seat in his desk chair facing her. “We have rules?”

“To keep us both safe, and to make sure we both know exactly where we stand,” she explained.

“And rule 1 is no games?” he asked. Ladybug nodded. Adrien struggled to keep his face impassive as he followed up with, “Can we have an exception for Mecha Strike?”

Ladybug stared at him for a moment, until his facade cracked and the smile spread across his face.

“I’m leaving,” she said simply, getting up and taking a few steps towards the window. Adrien laughed, and grabbed her hand, pulling her back and begging her to stay.

They discussed necessary precautions, both for their relationship and their lives in general. Ladybug asked Adrien if he’d told anyone yet, knowing full well he hadn’t shared it at school, and was not likely to tell anyone about it at home. He was a little disappointed, but Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief as he explained that, as much as he’d like to tell his friends, he understand the risks that would pose for them all.

“And we’ll have to be careful with any photos we take together,” Ladybug said. “Make sure that we keep them securely. Off the cloud. Certainly not on any desktop wallpapers or anything.”

Finally, Ladybug explained her plan for ensuring they could keep in touch.

“An email address?” Adrien asked, reading over the slip of paper Ladybug handed him.

“Totally private, nobody has that email address except you. I’ve got it set up already as an alert on my phone. We can’t exchange phone numbers without almost certainly exposing my secret identity, but this way we can still make sure we can talk to each other whenever we need to,” Ladybug explained, as Adrien saved the address as a contact in his phone, and set up his own alert. Ladybug sighed as he did so, taking account of exactly what she was saying. “Adrien… are we actually insane for trying this?”

Adrien looked back up at her. She was biting her lip, pleading with him with her eyes for reassurance that this was the right thing to do.

“Almost certainly. There’s a thousand things that could go wrong,” he said, and Ladybug appeared stricken. “But I don’t care. I care about you too much. This is worth every risk. This is worth fighting for.”

Adrien took Ladybug’s hand in his own, and squeezed. She smiled back.

“I don’t know about insane,” he went on, “but I know I’m mad about you.”

Ladybug silently mouthed “oh my God,” and stood up, her hands raised in the air. “And that’s strike 3! That’s it, I’m leaving, I can’t take another awful joke right now.”

“Wait!” Adrien said, laughing once again, “that was only 2 strikes!”

“No, you lost the second one for saying you’ll suggest a new Ladybug-inspired line for you to model to your father,” she said, and Adrien grinned sheepishly.

As Ladybug stood up to leave, however, she did stop to wink at Adrien, and before she left she kissed him on the cheek. Then he kissed her back, on the lips. Then their arms wound round each other as she deepened the kiss, but she pulled back just as abruptly, laughing.

“No, but, okay, I really do need to go,” she said. Adrien walked her over to the window, and they shared one last broad smile before she swung away.

When Marinette transformed back at home, she checked her phone to find her new account already had an email. She smiled fondly, and ultimately fell asleep looking over the simple one-line message.

_Miss you already. Good night, Ladybug! Adrien x_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to a wedding tomorrow! As such there might not be an update, we'll see what happens.


	8. Phones in Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ms Mendeleiev is not amused by students texting in her classroom.

The following day, Adrien walked with an extra spring in his step. Not only was his lady now his girlfriend, but now he could send her messages to talk to her any time he wanted. As either Adrien or Cat Noir, the chance just to talk with Ladybug when they weren’t out fighting akumas and against the clock was a dream come true.

He didn’t want to be too pushy or overbearing, so he’d held off on sending any messages since the night before, which had really just been a test to make sure it worked. Ladybug hadn’t sent a reply, but he was sure she’d just gone straight to sleep once she got home, or maybe not expected him to send an email so soon. Something like that.

The first class that day was science. He met up with Nino and Alya on their way to Ms. Mendeleiev’s classroom. They took their seats a few moments before Marinette burst into the room, worried she was late. All three gave a small laugh, Adrien offering a wave as she sheepishly passed and sat with Alya. Ms. Mendeleiev entered the room moments later.

“Good morning class. This morning we’ll be discussing alkaline compounds, and examining them in contrast to acidic compounds,” she said, walking up to her desk at the front without once looking up at the class. “But first, let’s take roll call…”

As the class wore on, Adrien found himself getting antsier and antsier. He didn’t mean to lose focus, he knew Ms. Mendeleiev had plenty to teach him despite his prior tutoring with Nathalie, but with all that had been going on lately the lecture simply couldn’t hold his attention. He pulled out his phone under the desk.

“Dude, what are you doing?” Nino whispered, keeping one eye on the front of the room, grateful their teacher had chosen that moment to turn to write on the board. “Mendeleiev’ll freak if she sees you on your phone in class!”

Adrien kept his eyes down, even as he sat up perfectly straight. He waved Nino off with one hand, typing under the desk with the other.

_So how’s your day going? I’m in a chemistry lesson… which is usually my favourite subject. But for some reason I’m just finding it hard to pay attention at the moment. Wish you were here, Bugaboo_

Adrien was about to hit send when he realised what his message actually said. He gasped out loud and dropped his phone. As it clattered to the tiled floor, the class let out a low “ooh…” and Adrien cringed, knowing what would come next.

“I will not tolerate phones being used in my classroom, Mr Agreste! Go to the Principal’s office, now!”

“I warned you,” Nino sighed.

Adrien picked up his phone and slowly walked out, apologising to Ms. Mendeleiev as he went. Once outside, he dropped the sombre demeanour. He was frankly happy to be out of the room. He could finish his message, then clear his head ready to better appreciate the rest of the school day.

 

* * *

 

In the classroom, Marinette frowned after Adrien, wondering what could have been so important as to be on his phone in class with the the teacher who was notoriously the strictest in the school.

“That doesn’t seem like Adrien at all. D’you think it was his dad maybe?” Alya muttered to Marinette.

As if in answer, Marinette’s phone beeped a newly set tone, and as she screwed up her face to brace for what was about to come, she knew exactly what Adrien had been doing.

Ms Mendeleiev was on her immediately. “Miss Dupain-Cheng! Out! Now! I’d have thought after what happened just minutes ago you’d have all thought to ensure your phones were properly switched off! The rest of you have 10 seconds to check, now!”

Everyone quickly pulled up their bags to ensure their phones were, at least, on silent, and properly put away. Marinette sighed as she shuffled out, not answering Alya’s bewildered look.

Out in the hall, Marinette checked her phone, and, sure enough, there was a new email from Adrien.

_So how’s your day going? I may have just gotten kicked out of a chemistry lesson for being on my phone. It’s a shame, because it’s normally my favourite subject, but for some reason I’m just finding it hard to pay attention at the moment :P Wish you were here, Lovebug. Adrien._

  
As she finished reading the email, Marinette squealed and tossed her phone in the air. She moved to catch it, and by the time it was back in her hand her face was crimson.

_Lovebug??_

With Cat Noir she’d gotten used to corny nicknames and over-the-top flirtatiousness. She expected it, even. And, frankly, rather appreciated it. Coming from her best friend, whose opinion she held in higher regard than any other, and knowing that through it all he respected and admired her so deeply, Cat Noir’s praises and affections had done wonders for her self-confidence.

But from Adrien it was… unexpected. And she supposed it really shouldn’t be; giving each other cute nicknames was something couples did, right? But still, it had come from out of the blue, somewhat. Although… when she imagined Adrien’s voice in her head, saying that, calling her Lovebug… she couldn’t hold back her smile. It was utterly adorable, not over-the-top, but showing just how he felt about her. It was perfect, just like Adrien.

Except now she needed an adorable nickname for him, too. And, inconveniently, he didn’t have a nice simple animal theme to draw on. With Cat Noir she had it easy, Kitty was the perfect blend of affection and the slightest touch of patronisation. Adrien didn’t have that at all. He was just… really, really pretty.

At that thought, Marinette smirked to herself, and began to type out a reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up with Adrien's nickname for Ladybug was easy. I spent a lot longer trying to choose one for her to give him XD


	9. Pay Attention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose has a theory about Adrien and Marinette. Chloé ruins everything, as per usual.

Back in the classroom, everyone had been divided up into groups for the practical task. Being down Adrien and Marinette meant the class divided perfectly into groups of four. Alya and Nino had joined up with Rose and Juleka.

“So what was going on with those two? Adrien might divide his attention sometimes, but he always keeps it together enough to stay out of trouble,” Nino said.

“And who’s texting Marinette in the middle of class? Her parents know better than that, and any friends would be in school - mostly in this school!” Alya added.

“Well, um, doesn’t she, like, babysit that kid? Maybe it was about that or something,” Juleka suggested.

“Maybe…” Alya said slowly. “But Mrs Chamack still knows Marinette has school. And that was a new ringtone, too…”

At this, Nino scoffed. “Come on, Alya, stuff is weird, but don’t you think you’re digging a bit deep on that one?”

Alya shrugged. “On its own I wouldn’t question it, but with everything else…”

“I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on!” Rose piped up. She was bobbing on the spot, grinning broadly, apparently very excited to share her theory. Regardless, she waited until she had everyone’s full, curious attention before explaining. “Adrien finally confessed his true love for Marinette, and now they’re secretly dating!”

Alya and Nino’s faces fell, and they shared a scrutinous side-glance.

“Uh huh. And what makes you think that, Rose?” Nino asked, biting the bullet on Alya’s behalf to ask what they were both thinking.

“Well, they’ve both been so much happier lately, ever since you all started going for lunch together,” Rose began. Alya rolled her eyes at what seemed to be such a baseless suspicion. Rose, however, was looking up, and counting off on her fingers. “Marinette’s been staring at him less lately, so something must have changed. Yesterday, did you see the look Adrien gave Marinette after she talked about how beautiful love is? And even today, Adrien just got into trouble for being on his phone, probably sending a text, just a few minutes before Marinette got into trouble for receiving a text. With a brand-new unique ringtone, as well. And now they’ve both been kicked out of class, so they’ve got the chance to be alone together.”

Alya was stunned. She turned to look at Nino, who’s wide eyes reflected how she felt. Juleka grinned.

“Rose is a people person,” she said, placing her hand on Rose’s shoulder as they both beamed.

“Well… that’s a good theory,” Nino said as he recovered, “but it’s still all just circumstantial. And I can’t imagine Adrien telling a lie to save his life, much less have some kind of secret relationship!”

“Um… hey, guys…”

“Yeah. And if Marinette Dupain-Cheng had gotten together with Adrien freaking Agreste, there is no way she’d have been able to keep it from me,” Alya said, crossing her arms as though that settled all debate.

“Guys…”

“Deny it all you want, but I know true love in motion when I see it,” Rose said, mirroring Alya’s move.

“Guys!” Juleka said, finally raising her voice just enough to get the rest of the group to turn to her. “Do any of you remember what we’re actually supposed to be doing?”

They all looked down at the set of beakers and the bunsen burner on the table in front of them. They looked round at the other groups working away, and tried to get Max’s attention.

 

* * *

 

Adrien was very deliberately taking his time with the walk to Mr Damocles’ office. He knew he shouldn’t expect a reply from Ladybug, knew that she would be in class at the time, just as he should have been, but he held out hope. At the very least, he wanted to give her the time to type a reply just in case she did get the chance.

As such, Adrien had taken a scenic route, heading downstairs and across the court to the stairs on the opposite side up to the office. It was just as he reached the stairs back up that his phone beeped in its brand new set tone. He immediately swiped the screen open to see what she’d said back.

_Hey there, Pretty Boy. I can’t believe you got yourself kicked out of class for trying to talk to me. We can talk any time at all when you’re free, but not during school, I know how important it is to you. From now on, no more texts until lunch, got it? Your Lovebug <3_

Adrien bit his lip eagerly, in part just to prevent his grin from splitting his face. She’d used the spur-of-the-moment nickname he’d given her as a sign-off. And she’d called him _Pretty Boy!_ He figured she found him attractive - he was a model; while he tried to stay modest, he knew he was good-looking - but to see her actually say it, for her to actually call him Pretty Boy, playfully teasing him at the same time. Nothing could be more perfect.

He took the stairs two at a time as he headed up to see Mr Damocles’, knowing that, as long as he played his cards right, nothing could put a dampener on his mood now. Just outside Ms Mendeleiev’s room, watching him from above, Marinette giggled, and set off along the walkway to the office at a bit of a slower pace.

 

* * *

 

Max was working with Kim, who had invited Chloé and Sabrina to work with them. Kim and Sabrina were trying to follow along as Max explained each step of what he was doing somewhat faster than they could keep up, while Chloé was happy to sit and let the others get the work done as she filed her nails.

“So, now we’re ready to add the sodium hydroxide,” Max said, using tongs to lift the chemical’s container towards the beaker over their bunsen burner.

“And that’s what will cause the metal to ignite, right?” Sabrina asked. Max smiled and nodded at her.

“Exactly. And I’ve calculated that if we use just 4% more sodium hydroxide than Ms Mendeleiev suggested, we’ll create the optimum reaction,” he said, carefully tilting the beaker.

“So just a tiny bit more creates an even more awesome flame,” Kim said eagerly, looking to Chloé, hoping to get her interested in joining in with the group. She did, indeed, look up, a smirk on her face.

“So you’re telling me that the more we add then the better it looks? Then let’s get this show on the road already,” Chloé said, grabbing Max’s arm and forcing him to spill much more of the compound than he’d intended.

It happened in an instant. Fortunately, Kim’s athletic reflexes enabled him to grab all three members of his group and pull them down and away from the table in time to avoid being hurt.

The beaker over the burner shattered, shards of glass scattering across the countertop. The flame caused by the reaction burned brilliantly, but fleetingly. The flame from the bunsen burner that was knocked on its side by the explosion was able to last a little longer, and spread somewhat rapidly across the countertop.

“Fire!” Alix cried out.

“What!? What happened!?” Ms Mendeleiev exclaimed. She’d been observing the reaction in Alix, Myléne, Ivan, and Nathaniel’s beaker at the time.

Alix raced to the wall and grabbed the fire extinguisher. She aimed the nozzle at the table and coated it in powder, quelling the flames. The room fell silent, the students all watching their teacher as she began quivering on the spot.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Ms Mendeleiev,” Max eventually said. “It’s my fault, really, I was just tweaking the experiment slightly, but I failed to adequately convey to Chloé-”

“Get. Out,” Ms Mendeleiev said under her breath. Max instantly stopped talking, but nobody moved. “GET OUT!” she screamed, and this time the entire class left the room as quickly as they could.

Across the city, an observation window opened.

“Ah, a teacher disrespected by her students. What perfect prey for my akuma…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akuma time! Have people been looking forward to Cat Noir? I feel like people have probably been looking forward to Cat Noir.


	10. Mendeleievium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ms Mendeleiev becomes akumatised and seeks to punish her disruptive students.

Ms Mendeleiev was hunched over her desk, palms flat on its surface, head hung low. It was bad enough when these kids were just so plain rude, using their phones in class. But dangerously fooling around with materials in a science lab? Starting a fire that could have gone so badly? How could they be so reckless!?

She walked back around to their workstation and began clearing away their mess.

A purple butterfly phased through the closed window, and flitted towards Ms Mendeleiev. As the teacher picked up the knocked over Bunsen burner, the butterfly made contact with it. She stood bolt upright.

"Mendeleievium, I am Hawkmoth,” the voice said into her head. She immediately recognised it as being a very important voice, one who she should respect, whose instructions she should follow. She immediately accepted the name he had given her, and listening intently. “I'm giving you the power to teach your students the lesson they truly deserve. All I ask is that you combine the elements of Ladybug & Cat Noir's Miraculouses, and bring them to me."

Mendeleievium grinned appreciatively as she took in Hawkmoth’s words. Finally, she could make them understand!

"I'll teach all of Paris what happens when you play with volatile elements!"

From the Bunsen burner in her hand, her body was encased in a purple aura as her new powers overtook her.

 

* * *

 

Marinette was waiting outside of Mr Damocles’ office. When she had knocked to enter, he'd told her to wait while he dealt with “another student”. She hoped the he wasn't being too harsh on Adrien…

When everyone else in her class filed out of the lab across the courtyard, Marinette frowned. She opened her bag.

“What do you think that's all about, Tikki?” she asked, pointing over to her friends. Tikki floated up and looked over.

“Do you think maybe they all got their phones out and started texting each other?” Tikki said, giving Marinette a coy look.

“Somehow I doubt it. Let's check it out.”

She headed back across the walkway. The class were stood outside the door just chatting. One by one they looked her way as she approached.

“Hey, what's going on out here?” Marinette asked, loud enough for anyone to hear, but mostly directed to Alya.

“Seems Chloé couldn't listen well enough to avoid starting a fire in the classroom!” Alya said, glaring at Chloé. Chloé huffed and turned away, which Marinette knew meant she had no way to refute Alya's point.

“What!? Is everyone okay?” Marinette gasped. Her eyes flitted over the group, counting heads.

“We’re all fine. Alix was on it grabbing the fire extinguisher. But Ms Mendeleiev… was not happy," Ivan explained.

“She totally freaked and kicked us all out of the room”, Nathaniel added.

“So…” Marinette said, slowly, fearing the worst. “So now Ms Mendeleiev is all alone in there, angrier than any of us have ever seen her?”

An awkward silence fell as none of her classmates had a response. Instead, the response came in the form of the door to the lab lighting on fire, very quickly turning to ash.

Standing facing the class in the doorway was, unmistakably, their akumatised teacher. Her hair had turned white and grown out, sticking out wildly in all directions. Her labcoat had grown into a billowing white overcoat, and her glasses had grown to obscure her face, with jagged spiral patterns shrouding her eyes. Strapped across her chest was what seemed to be an ammunition belt loaded with chemical flasks and beakers, each containing a different brightly coloured liquid. Perhaps most alarmingly, her entire right arm was encased in silver metal shaped like a conical flask, with the ignition on its end making clear its purpose; a flamethrower.

“Who wants to conduct an experiment on the effects of _fire_ on _brats_?” she cackled. She lowered her arm to aim her attack at the kids, and they scattered.

Marinette managed to duck into an empty room separate from the rest of her class. Tikki flew out as soon as she heard the door close, ready for action.

Talk about a bad reaction,” Marinette said, earning the slightest of smirks from Tikki. “Time to transform! Tikki, spots on!”

 

* * *

 

In the principal’s office sat Adrien, earnestly apologising for his misdemeanour.

“My father had sent me a message, and he really doesn't fully appreciate how it works at school, he doesn't understand that I can't just drop everything to respond, but he expects me to. I truly am sorry it happened, sir, and I'll work to ensure it doesn't happen again.”

He finished by placing his hands together and bowing his head in respect.

Mr Damocles considered Adrien carefully. It was the first time he'd had to see the young model for a behaviour concern. Adrien had mentioned his father, and Mr Damocles did not want to be responsible for any ire of Gabriel Agreste.

“Well, this is your first offence”, he began, choosing his words carefully and slowly, “and it is such a minor concern…”

At that point, they heard screaming. Both jumped to their feet immediately.

“What the-?” Mr Damocles said, stepping round to peer through the doorway. “Akuma attack! Adrien, you stay here; I have to go and see if I can help.”

“Sir, no, it's too dangerous!” Adrien said. He shouldn't have been arguing. He needed to be alone so he could transform and go to fight the akuma, but he couldn't stop himself from wanting to protect others.

Mr Damocles loosened his tie. “She's one of my teachers, son. I have to try!”

He raced out, slamming the door behind him. Plagg floated out of Adrien’s shirt pocket.

“One of the teachers, huh? Plagg asked, taking a nibble of camembert. “Do you think it's the teacher who just kicked you out?”

“Only one way to find out. Plagg, claws out!”

 

* * *

 

Mendeleievium laughed as she burned through doors, desks, and anything else in her path to find her would-be students.

The first she came across was Max, crouched behind a bin, which stuck to his shoes as it melted in Mendeleievium’s flames.

“Here's what happens when you mess around with dangerous chemicals!” the villain said as she took one of the beakers from her ammo belt, filled with a bubbling yellow liquid, and raised it above her head-

-Only for it to be snatched away as a yoyo string wrapped around it. Ladybug tugged on the cord, and pulled it out of Mendeleievium’s grip. The vial flew past her head and shattered against the wall of the building, swiftly dissolving it. Max squealed and leapt to his feet, running away as Mendeleievium turned to Ladybug.

“Now that’s just the sort of recklessness I’m talking about! You clearly can’t be trusted with dangerous items either, so I’ll be confiscating your Miraculous now!” the villain said.

As she spoke, she grabbed another flask, this one full of something pale, almost clear, which she threw at the floor of the walkway. The glass shattered and the chemical covered Ladybug’s feet, swiftly encasing them in ice. Ladybug tried to pull her feet free, but she was locked in place. Mendeleievium rushed up to her, and reached for the earrings. Ladybug struggled against her, holding back Mendeleievium’s arms, but being unable to move her feet meant she quickly found herself at a bad angle.

The ice shattered as Cat Noir’s baton extended down from up on the roof. Mendeleievium was thrown off balance, and Ladybug was able to push her back and get her feet free as Cat Noir jumped down between them. He wasted no time and rushed at the villain, kicking her over the edge of the walkway.

“That’s the science teacher, right?” Cat Noir said, looking over the balcony at her laying on the ground of the quad. “Talk about a bad reaction.”

Ladybug made sure he could see her rolling her eyes. “No time for the lame puns now, Kitty, we really need to stop this akuma fast, she’s got some serious firepower!”

“No kidding,” Cat Noir said, grabbing Ladybug and jumping off of the walkway as Mendeleievium aimed and shot her flamethrower up at them.

Cat Noir rolled over in the air to ensure he took the brunt of the fall, landing on his back. “Are you all right, my lady?” he asked, despite wincing as he spoke.

Ladybug jumped up quickly, pulling her partner back to his feet. “Yes, of course, with you literally taking the fall for me, but you need to be more careful, Cat Noir! Don’t hurt yourself on my account, I can take care of myself.”

Cat Noir could hear the concern in Ladybug’s voice, and his heart melted. He was about to make some cheesey comment about how she loves him, really, but her face before she left his room the night before flashed into his mind. This look was full of love, but it wasn’t the same. He nearly sighed out loud at the thought that she loved him so much in so many different ways, but he maintained his composure.

“Of course, my lady. Now, shall we show this teacher what we’re made of?” he said. Ladybug rolled her eyes again, but this time she smiled - that is, until she looked around again.

“One problem with that. Where did she go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously Ms Mendeleiev is named after Dmitri Mendeleev. I get that. But even so this pun just seems too perfect not to use.
> 
> Marinette loves puns. She just can't bear the thought of how much power Cat Noir would wield if he knew the truth.


	11. The Perfect Formula

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug & Cat Noir fight Mendeleievium. Cat Noir notices something odd in Marinette's bedroom.

With their earpiece communicators in place, Ladybug and Cat Noir had decided the best plan to try to track down Mendeleievium was to split up. The school seemed to have been fully evacuated, so Cat Noir opted to leave and try to see if he could find a trail to her elsewhere. Ladybug decided to stay back and sweep the school first, to ensure she wasn’t hiding out somewhere.

Ladybug found every classroom to be clear, and nobody seemed to be in the bathrooms either. She couldn’t quite bring herself to go into the boys’ room, but she opened the door and called in, trusting anyone in trouble inside would let her know.

Inside the school library, hiding under a table, she found Mr Damocles. His clothes had been badly singed, covered in holes and black soot.

“Are you all right, sir?” she asked, kneeling down beside him.

“Ladybug! Thank goodness you’re here. I tried to talk Ms Mendeleiev out of it, but she wouldn’t listen! She attacked me! I had to find a place to hide,” he said, his voice dropping and trailing off as he finished. Ladybug smiled at him.

“You did the right thing, she’s very dangerous right now. She seems to have left the school though, you can come out,” she said, offering him a hand to help pull him up. “Can you think of anyone else who might be still hiding in the school somewhere?”

“Well… oh, I had a student in my office, Adrien Agreste, I told him to stay there…” Mr Damocles said.

“Adrien!” Ladybug gasped, dropping Mr Damocles’ hand such that he staggered and fell again. Ladybug had already left, however, running to the principal’s office to check.

There was no sign of Adrien.

Before Ladybug could panic too hard about where he’d gone, her earpiece beeped. “Go for it, Cat Noir.”

“You’re gonna be late for class, Bugaboo. Our teacher’s ready across the street at Boulangerie Patisserie,” Cat Noir said. Ladybug gasped. “My lady?”

“On my way,” Ladybug said, swinging up to the school roof to come in from above.

On the street below, Cat Noir turned back to Marinette’s parents. “We’ll handle it from here. Get to safety. And don’t worry, Ladybug’s lucky charm will put everything right in the end.”

Tom and Sabine still looked nervous, but they nodded and thanked Cat Noir as he ran into the bakery. The shop was a mess from customers and owners alike fleeing Mendeleievium. Cat Noir gritted his teeth and headed for the stairs. He just hoped Marinette hadn’t fled straight home from school, as Mendeleievium apparently thought.

It seemed Mendeleievium had burnt through every door on her way up to the apartment, unable to find her prey. Cat Noir could hear the sound of her flamethrower further up, however, and found her incinerating the final door.

“You know, you could at least try knocking first,” he said, as he extended his pole towards the villain. He managed to jam the flamethrower and knock her arm away. Mendeleievium turned to him and scowled.

“Well if nobody else can show manners, then why should I!?” she cried out, ramming into the door to knock the remaining charred wood out of the way.

Cat Noir followed as she ran up the stairs directly to Marinette’s room, and entered.

“Where are you, Ms Dupain-Cheng, I’ve got one important final lesson for you…” she said, looking around the pink space. She did not, however, look up.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Ladybug said, jumping down from the skylight to deliver a kick to Mendeleievium’s jaw. “But class has been cancelled.”

The villain hissed as she grabbed one of the beakers from her belt, and raised it ready to throw.

“Cataclysm!”

Mendeleievium turned and saw Cat Noir right behind her, his hand glowing. As she felt a weight lift from her torso, she shrieked in horror, realising her ammo belt was disintegrating. She scowled, and smashed the final beaker in her hand at Cat Noir’s feet, and a bright blue cloud erupted from the shattered glass.

The instant the fumes reached his nostrils, Cat Noir collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees.

“Cat Noir!” Ladybug cried, pushing past Mendeleievium, who cackled and fled through the skylight.

Ladybug dragged her partner clear of the fumes, making sure not to breathe any in herself. She propped Cat Noir up against the chaise lounge. Despite coughing and spluttering, he smiled at her.

“I’ll be all right, my lady,” he said slowly. “I think it’s just… some kind of… knockout gas…”

“I don’t understand though, you destroyed her belt, I thought for sure that’s where her akuma was. If not there, then where?”

Cat Noir absolutely grinned. “It’s _elementary_ , Bugaboo. The flamethrower…”

His speech was now slurred almost to incomprehension, and his eyes lost focus. Ladybug sighed, and left his side, heading back to the roof. Mendeleievium was a few buildings away, scanning the streets below for any sign of her quarry.

“Let’s finish this. Lucky Charm!”

Ladybug thrust her yoyo into the air, and was rewarded for her trouble with…

“A tennis ball? I thought this was science, not PE.”

Ladybug kept her eyes peeled as she swung after Mendeleievium, looking for the perfect angle of attack.

_Hm… Angle…_

 

* * *

 

In Marinette’s bedroom, Adrien moaned a little as he transformed back, but remained mostly unconscious. Plagg flopped down on Adrien’s chest.

“So… hungry…” he groaned. He dragged himself up, floating over to Marinette’s desk. “Come on, Tikki, you’ve gotta have something good around here…”

Plagg scoured the area until he found a stash of cookies. He nibbled on one. “Bleck! What do you see in these things, Tikki…”

Despite himself, Plagg forced down the sweet chocolate chip cookie, then set about reviving Adrien. That meant lots of tiny, tiny slaps.

“Plagg? What happened?” Adrien said groggily.

“Doesn’t matter,” Plagg said, “your girlfriend’s in trouble, we’ve gotta move!”

“Right! Plagg, claws out!”

As Cat Noir moved towards the skylight, his own face caught his eye. He turned and saw, on the wall behind Marinette’s laptop, a collage of pictures of himself; some from professional photoshoots, others from his time spent with his friends. While the rest of their friends showed up in a few pictures, Adrien was clearly the focus of both the presented pictures, and the overall display.

Cat Noir shrugged it off and leapt up the the skylight.

Mendeleievium had descended from the rooftops and taken up position in the centre of the park, threatening widespread destruction if she was not delivered the students who had disrupted her class. Ladybug plotted out her trajectory, and threw the tennis ball. It ricocheted off of a park bench, then against a tree, ultimately flying right over Mendeleievium’s head.

“Oh no!” Ladybug said, biting her lip as she realised she must have miscalculated…

…Until Cat Noir appeared in the air above, and brought his baton down on the ball, rocketing it down.

“Batter up!” he called out, drawing Mendeleievium’s attention.

She looked up, raising her arm to fire. The ball lodged itself within the flamethrower, causing it to build back up on itself. Ultimately, the weapon exploded, and Mendeleievium’s akuma attempted its escape.

“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilise!” Ladybug called, opening up her yoyo and twirling it overhead. She swung and caught the bug, returning it to its natural state. “Bye bye, little butterfly! Miraculous Ladybug!”

As Ladybug threw the tennis ball into the sky, the damage wrought by Mendeleievium was undone, and she herself changed back into Ms Mendeleiev. Ladybug and Cat Noir bumped fists. “Pound it!”

 

* * *

 

Across the city, Hawkmoth bemoaned his defeat.

“One day, Ladybug and Cat Noir, I shall find the perfect formula to defeat you and gain your Miraculous!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chemistry/teaching puns were a lot of fun for this.
> 
> I'm sure this will have zero ramifications for what's yet to come ^_^


	12. Back to Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug tells Cat Noir about her relationship with Adrien. Cat Noir feels conflicted.

“Truly, Ladybug, you and I have the greatest chemistry,” Cat Noir said, with a grin. Ladybug rolled her eyes.

As she heard the warning beep in her ears, Ladybug bit her lip. She didn’t know when she’d next get a chance…

“Cat Noir...” she began, nervously looking all around. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“N-Now, my lady? But you’re about to change back,” Cat Noir said, glancing at Ladybug’s earrings. If she wanted to talk this badly straight after a battle, it had to be serious.

Ladybug nodded. “We need privacy. Follow me.”

Wasting not another second, Ladybug threw her yoyo into the air and pulled herself away. Cat Noir vaulted after her, following as she zigzagged in seemingly random directions, all while gaining more and more distance and height. Eventually, Ladybug stopped atop a tower block, turning around so suddenly Cat Noir almost ran into her. He was puffing and panting as he spoke.

“Lady - bug - what’s - going - on?”

“I’m about to transform back,” she said, as her earrings gave their final warning beep. “Quick, turn around now!”

Cat Noir just caught a glimpse of the bright light enveloping Ladybug as her transformation overtook her. Obediently, he swivelled on the spot, staring out at the city. Behind him, he heard Ladybug slump down. He sat down cross-legged himself.

Tikki looked up at Marinette as she reappeared, taking full stock of the situation. She gave Marinette a small frown, that turned into a small smile with an eye roll, then zoomed back into Marinette’s bag to refuel.

“Ladybug? Is- is everything all right?” Cat Noir asked. He wanted to be able to see her face, to try to read her expression. To see whether she needed comfort or… or whatever else she needed from him in that moment.

“Yes, Kitty. Everything is… great,” she said, sighing contentedly. She had moved so her back was up against his, and she tilted her head back to rest against his shoulder. Cat Noir turned to look the other way, just in case, and blushed.

“So what’s all this about? It’s not often you whisk me away just to sit around together. Have I finally won you over, Bugaboo?” he asked coyly. He dropped the overconfident swagger from his voice, though, as he added, “So what was it? Was it the chemistry pun? Or the bad reaction gag? Or was it just me leaping in at the last second to help you defeat Mendeleievium?”

Naturally, Cat Noir knew he’d not won over Ladybug’s heart that day. At least, he expected not. And… he wasn’t quite sure whether or not he hoped? That was more confusing. Either way, as long as he got to be with Ladybug, he was happy. Regardless, this was just the way he interacted with Ladybug; he’d cockily flirt, she’d roll her eyes and set him straight, they’d laugh it off together.

Marinette chuckled at her partner’s comments. Her finger traced circles on the roof, and she bit her lip as she readied the bomb she had to drop. She wished she could see Cat Noir’s face and gauge his reaction to what she had to say, but Tikki needed more time to rest, and this couldn’t wait any longer.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Marinette said, then took a deep breath to steady herself. “I… I have a boyfriend.”

Marinette felt Cat Noir’s entire body tense as she spoke. She knew that hearing this would break his heart. She didn’t know how well he thought he’d communicated his feelings to Ladybug, but he had entirely, sincerely, and unabashedly admitted his feelings for Ladybug to Marinette. As he took a deep breath, she was sure he was steadying himself against this confirmation that she wasn’t going to suddenly fall for him.

As Ladybug let out the reason she’d dragged him halfway across the city, Cat Noir felt… angry. Had they not just discussed this yesterday? That they couldn’t tell anyone about their relationship? And yet here Ladybug was, telling him at the first opportunity? Adrien had been giddy with excitement, all the while disappointed he couldn’t explain to his friends why he was so happy. So much so that he got himself into trouble at school over it, as Ladybug knew full well.

Marinette reached around, trying to find his hand with her fingertips. She found his forearm and moved her hand down, wrapping her fingers around his palm.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Cat Noir. I know you…” Ladybug paused, sighing. She couldn’t bring herself to say it, to acknowledge that which for so long had gone unsaid sincerely between Cat Noir and Ladybug.

“Should you,” Cat Noir began. His throat was dry, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat. “Should you really be telling me this? We aren’t supposed to know anything about each other, right?”

Marinette knelt forewords and placed her head in her hands. In spite of himself, Cat Noir missed the feeling of Ladybug’s hand on his, the back of her head on his shoulder.

“Well… about our other lives, yeah… but… well… I’m seeing him as Ladybug,” she said, her voice muffled as she moaned into her hands. “And I know it’s insane, and so risky, and a million things could go wrong, but… I just can’t help myself around him. He’s utterly wonderful. So sweet, and caring, and thoughtful, and considerate, and compassionate… and, you know, as a bonus he’s super duper cute.”

Cat Noir’s stomach flipped over and back again. Ladybug was melting his heart as she spoke so warmly and fondly about him. But he had to stay focused here on what truly felt like a betrayal of trust between Ladybug and Adrien. He felt her sit up straight against his back.

“So. There’s three reasons why I’m telling you all this, Cat Noir. One; obviously us being together puts him at risk, even if we are a secret. Even more of a risk than he’s already in. It’s… he’s Adrien Agreste. The model. Remember him?”

Cat Noir had to clear his throat again to confirm that, yes, he more or less remembered who Adrien Agreste was. He hadn’t expected Ladybug to want a response from him as she explained. Already what she was saying was causing him to choke up a little.

“So, yeah, obviously a pretty big potential target. And of course I’ll do everything I can to protect him, but… well, maybe one day that might not be possible. And if that happens… well, there’s no-one I’d trust more to protect someone who’s important to me than you, Kitty,” Marinette said. As she finished her point she reached her hand around, linking their pinkies together. “And before you say it, I know what you’re thinking. I swear, it’s not just a superficial thing. He is… the kindest, gentlest person I have ever met.”

“I… I would never, Ladybug…” Cat Noir said in barely more than a whisper.

_She only wants to protect me… to keep me safe…_

“Reason number two,” she went on, then paused, sighing. When Ladybug spoke again, Cat Noir realised she was as choked up as he felt. “It’s been really hard seeing my friends at school and not being able to say anything to them. I have this one friend, and she… she’d be just _over the moon_ to find out I was… that I have a boyfriend. As it stands I don’t know if I’ll ever get to tell her… but I had to tell someone. And you’re my best friend, Kitty.”

Cat Noir was crying now. He’d been so wrapped up in how much it hurt him, not to be able to tell Nino, Marinette, Alya, Chloé, Nathalie, Miss Bustier, the Gorilla, and to heck with it, the whole of freaking Paris about his relationship with Ladybug, he hadn’t really thought much about the toll the secret would take on Ladybug… whom he knew, of course, already had so many secrets to keep, and hated lies, from which their secrets were just a small step away. And of all the people she could have chosen as her singular confidant...

“And lastly… spots on,” Ladybug said, and Cat Noir saw the glow of her transformation behind him overwhelm the sun in the sky.

After a moment, he turned around, and saw Ladybug offering him a hand. He took it, and she helped pull Cat Noir to his feet. As he stood up, she maintained her grip on his hand.

“Lastly… we have too many secrets between us, Cat Noir. You’re my best friend,” Ladybug said. She sniffed. Now that Cat Noir could finally see Ladybug’s face, he saw the tears rolling freely down her cheeks just as his did. Despite that, however, she was beaming at him so brightly. “We have to maintain our secret identities. But I couldn’t not share this with you, something that’s making me so happy. Even if I can never tell anyone else.”

Cat Noir broke down. He mentally kicked himself for ever having been upset at Ladybug for wanting to tell him about her relationship. He pulled her in for a bear hug, which she returned in earnest.

Ladybug felt a tremendous weight lift from her as Cat Noir embraced her. She’d been terrified of his reaction, worried he’d never want to speak to her again. At the very least she expected him to be hurt that she was telling him about her feelings for and relationship with someone else. She had underestimated her partner greatly.

Cat Noir pulled back, and gripped Ladybug by the shoulders. He took a moment to steady his breath before speaking.

“Ladybug. I love you,” he said, and her face went into complete panic. Cat Noir laughed. “No, no, I don’t mean like that. Not to say that I don’t, but… you’re my best friend too. Thank you for sharing that with me. I’m honoured you’d let me in on this secret. I swear, I’ll do everything in my power to support you on this.”

Ladybug gasped, and was on the verge of a new wave of tears. She’d hoped Cat Noir would be understanding. She hadn’t dreamed for anything like this, to be so supportive, and sweet, and caring, and thoughtful. She hugged him again.

After a moment, Cat Noir pulled back again. “Well now. I’d better get going. People are going to start wondering where I’ve been since the akuma attack.” Ladybug nodded, expressing the same thought.

As Cat Noir stepped towards the edge of the roof, ready to pounce away, he turned back to Ladybug one last time.

“Just remember. You may be Adrien’s girlfriend, Ladybug. But you’ll always be my lady,” he said. He winked, then turned, and was gone.

Ladybug was left with a deep blush on her cheeks. She wiped away her last few tears and smiled, as she took out her yoyo and began to swing back home. As she made her way back, she reached a decision. After what she had just shared with Cat Noir, it wasn’t fair to deny Adrien the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being way longer than I expected, and way longer than any previous chapter. But there was no chance this could be broken up.
> 
> Because SO MUCH FLUFF. I love it. I love them. These precious stupid dorks. My children <3
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed the fluff overload today ^_^ I'd love to hear what you're thinking, even if your thoughts are just incomprehensible squeals :P


	13. Texting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home safely from the attack, Marinette texts her friends that she's okay. All does not add up to Alya.

When Marinette arrived back at school, Miss Bustier let her know that all students had been sent home after the attack. Everyone knew they could trust that the Miraculous Ladybug power would ensure everyone was safely restored after the attack, though Miss Bustier did want to know why it had taken so long for Marinette to report back. She claimed not to have realised the attack had ended, apologised, and headed home.

“Marinette! There you are! Are you all right?” her mother asked, as Marinette entered the bakery. She wanted to make sure her parents knew she was home safe, so she went through the front instead of around through the side door.

“Where have you been?” Tom added, putting an arm around his daughter’s shoulders. Marinette grinned broadly, pulling away from her father, and moving quickly towards the back of the shop, and the stairs up to their home.

“Oh, well, I ran to hide when I realised what was going on! I didn’t come back here because I had a feeling that Ms Mendeleiev might come after me - it’s partly my fault she got upset, my phone went off in class - gotta remember to keep it on silent! And then I didn’t realise when Ladybug and Cat Noir stopped her, so I waited to come back until I was sure everything was safe. It was pretty scary, though, so I’m gonna head upstairs to calm down, okay see you later, I love you, bye!”

Marinette was already running up the stairs as she finished speaking, calling down to her parents below. They looked at each other, Tom shrugging and Sabine shaking her head, but both smiling.

Once she was safely in her room, completely cleared of all signs of an akuma attack, Marinette took out her phone. When she saw she had seven unread messages, she wasn’t surprised, but she did groan.

Alya: Marinette, are you all right? Where did you go? Did you head home? Stay safe, girl!

Alya: DO NOT GO HOME! If you’re at home, get out of there! It looks like she’s going to your house! I’ll try and see what’s going on from outside.

Alya: The akuma just came out of your room! This is insane! And there’s Ladybug too!!

Alya: Okay. Looks like they’ve taken care of it all. You’re pretty quiet though. Are you okay?

Alya: Now I’m worried. If I don’t hear from you in 10 minutes I’m officially launching a search party.

Marinette sighed, but smiled. She checked the timestamp on the last message: five minutes ago. Marinette shook her head, and decided it would probably be best to respond to Alya before checking her remaining messages. She laid down in bed as she began to write.

Marinette: Hey, I’m fine, sorry! I just got back home. My phone died - I forgot to charge it last night and didn’t realise I’d get chased away by an akuma!

Satisfied this would at least buy her some time, Marinette turned to the email she’d received from Adrien.

Adrien: Hey, are you okay? That looked like a tough battle you had out there. But, of course you’re okay, you’re Ladybug. Nothing can stop you! Sorry you came to my school for that and I couldn’t see you. I’d invite you over this evening, but my father wants me to make up the lessons the attack made me miss with Nathalie :/ I wish I could see you, even if I know you’ll be all right… I’ll make sure I can text you any time this evening, Lovebug. I don’t think Nathalie will get akumatised from me texting in class :P

Marinette smiled, giggling a little at Adrien’s sweetness. Of course he was worried about her, his concern for others was her very first insight into the real Adrien. But he still had such confidence in her!

Ladybug: That’s okay, it’s probably best if I rest up after that fight. Aw, thanks, Pretty Boy! You’re so thoughtful. I hope Cat Noir has someone looking out for him who’s as kind and supportive as you are. No worries about not being free, I know you always have a lot going on… How about Thursday?

Marinette nodded, content that that covered everything, and went to check her last message. She dropped her phone on her face.

“Ow.”

“Marinette, are you all right?” Tikki asked, fluttering over and pushing the phone off of Marinette’s nose.

Marinette showed Tikki the final message. It was also from Adrien - but this one was an actual text to Marinette.

“Why is he sending _me_ a message?” she asked, tapping the alert to bring up the text.

Adrien: Marinette, are you okay? I just got back to class. Miss Bustier said you’re the last person who they haven’t seen after the akuma attack.

“He just wants to check if you’re okay. Because you’re friends, Marinette. And that’s what _friends_ do. They text each other!” Tikki said, smiling brightly. Marinette returned the smile.

“You’re right. I know. I guess I’m still just not used to being close enough with Adrien for that,” Marinette said.

“Marinette, you were at Adrien’s house yesterday making rules for your relationship. I think you’re a little way past the point of freaking out about texting him!”

They both laughed, and as they did so another text came in, so Marinette set about replying faster.

Marinette: I’m okay! I must have gotten back just a few minutes after you. Glad to hear you’re good too. Guess you were also hiding from Ms Mendeleiev, huh? Hope Nathalie doesn’t work you too hard now that your day is free!

“Um, Marinette,” Tikki said, as Marinette hit send. “How do you know that Adrien will have to do extra work at home?”

“You saw the message, Tikki, he told-” Marinette began, but her voice caught on her throat as she realised that Adrien had told Ladybug. Not Marinette.

She groaned and fell back on her bed. Moments later, she sat up bolt upright.

“Oh no…”

“I'm sure it'll be okay Marinette, you'll figure out what to-"

"No, Tikki, it's not that,” Marinette said. Tikki cocked her head to the side. “Cat Noir saw all my pictures of Adrien… I might as well die of embarrassment!”

 

* * *

 

Nathalie was testing Adrien on Ms Mendeleiev’s curriculum, having requested copies of all planning for Adrien’s education. Occasionally she screwed her nose up and skipped a page entirely. It seemed she was less than impressed by the level of work the school was covering.

Adrien played along quietly, while his leg tapped impatiently under the table. He had no issue sitting through the lesson, especially as he wouldn’t normally have been home from school yet, but he was waiting to hear back from Ladybug and his friends.

When his phone buzzed with his new email alert tone, he had to stifle a gasp. Nathalie looked at him curiously.

“Nathalie, may I please go to the bathroom?” he asked, grinning far too broadly.

Nathalie rolled her eyes, making sure Adrien saw, then looked away. “Yes, Adrien. You may go to the _bathroom_.”

He was out of his seat and sprinting out of the room before Nathalie had finished speaking.

The moment he was sure he was alone, Adrien took out his phone. He skipped the messages from Nino and Alya and went straight to his latest message, the email from Ladybug.

“Look at this, Plagg,” he said out loud, prompting Plagg to fly out of his jacket. “Even now she’s worrying about Cat Noir.”

Adrien: Don't worry, Lovebug, I'm sure Cat Noir has someone looking out for him too. Thursday sounds great, 5 o’clock?

As he wrote, Marinette’s text came through.

“Oh, good, Marinette’s safe too. I wonder how she knew I’d have to do more work.”

“Oh, well, she probably just figured, since Nathalie and your father work you so hard anyway, she knows they’d wanna squeeze you for every last drop, right?” Plagg said. Adrien thought he sounded oddly strained, but shrugged it off.

He sent simple replies to each of them, confirming plans with Ladybug, and voicing relief and thanks to Marinette. As he was writing, another message came through from Alya. Adrien laughed as he read through them all. Earlier she had left several messages to confirm that Adrien was safe and okay, and now she was asking if he’d heard from Marinette, still missing. The most recent message was Alya confirming that, indeed, Marinette had made it home safe and sound.

Finally, he had a message from Nino, advising him that Alya was talking about getting everyone out searching for Marinette if she didn’t turn up soon. Adrien smiled and closed his eyes in contemplation. He felt so lucky to have found himself in a group of friends who cared for each other so deeply.

Another message came through, from Nino again.

Nino: Yo man, so what was up earlier? Texting in class, getting sent to Damocles? That’s not like you, bro.

Adrien paused, considering his response. He wished he didn’t have to lie, but knew there was no other way around it. The best course of action seemed to be maintaining the story he’d given Mr Damocles, which also seemed the least likely scenario for anyone to verify.

He tucked his phone away, now finally on silent, and headed back to his lesson.

 

* * *

 

Alya’s phone clanged against the metal café table as it buzzed with a new message. She quickly snatched it up.

“It’s from Marinette! She’s okay,” Alya said, and Rose, Juleka, Myléne, and Alix all breathed a sigh of relief. “She says she forgot to charge her phone.”

“That’s some classic Marinette,” Alix said.

“So I guess we can call off the search party,” Myléne said. “We told you everything would be fine, Alya.”

“Sure. But we’re not done here,” Alya said, and everyone groaned, slumping back in their seats. Alya spoke slowly as she typed her return message. “I want to know who that text was from.”

“I already told you, it’s totally from Adrien!” Rose squealed.

“Come on, Alya, don’t you think you should let them have their privacy?” Juleka asked.

“Hey, if my friends are in a relationship, that’s great, I couldn’t be happier! And I wouldn’t hold it against them or anyone else to be in a _secret relationship_ ,” Alya said, staring pointedly at Rose and Juleka. They both blushed and looked deliberately away from each other. “But I just do not believe that either of these two are capable of keeping that secret.”

A few moments passed before Alya’s phone lit up once more.

Marinette: Oh! That! No biggie! It was from my grandma. She’s in England right now. They’re an hour behind and she got the time mixed up, thought we were an hour ahead and it would be safe to text.

“There, see. Totally innocent, reasonable explanation,” Alya said. She put her phone down and folded her arms, smirking at Rose.

“And what about the new ringtone?” Rose asked.

“Big deal, she changed her ringtone, that doesn’t mean anything.”

Alya’s phone buzzed once again.

“Huh. Nino’s just heard from Adrien that he got back to see Ms Bustier just a few minutes before Marinette. Why’d they get back so late?” Alya said, more to herself than the group. Rose utterly beamed, however.

“Come on, Alya, open your eyes, it’s so obvious! It’s because they were together the whole time! They couldn’t stay away!”

Alya grimaced, and Rose only beamed harder back at her. She stood up to leave. “We’ll see. This is so not over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this chapter was going to be really short and just fill a gap... but it's got a lot to do, I guess XD Lots of set up for what's to come.


	14. Love and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Adrien enjoy some time together and talk about the lies they have to tell.

Adrien’s window was left open for Ladybug when she arrived for their date on Thursday. He had made it clear that she did not need to knock or wait, but that she could just come straight in. Despite that, Ladybug found Adrien leaning against the window waiting for her as she arrived, noticing the broad grin stretching further across his face as she got closer and closer.

“What’s the point in saying you’ll leave the window open for me,” Ladybug began, pausing as she swung into the room and released her yoyo, “if you’re just going to wait for me there anyway?”

Adrien’s grin mirrored hers, albeit much more sheepish. He hid his embarrassment by kissing her.

“What, um… what were we talking about?” Ladybug asked, flushing. Adrien laughed, and Ladybug joined him.

“So, what did you wanna do?” Adrien asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Ladybug looked around the room, contemplating their options. She didn’t want their relationship to be so one-note as to do the same thing every time. Fortunately, Adrien’s room offered a lot of options.

“How about that?” she suggested, pointing to Adrien’s DDR game.

“Always the competitive one, huh?” Adrien asked, smirking. When Ladybug’s face faltered with anxiety, he clarified, “No, I don’t mind, it’s a good thing. And fun! I should warn you though, Lovebug, I’ve gotten a lot of hours of practise in.”

“Oh yeah? Well don’t forget, Pretty Boy,” Ladybug said. As Adrien walked over to the mini stage, Ladybug flipped through the air from a standing start to beat him to it. “I’m pretty athletic and flexible.”

Adrien gulped.

Ladybug wasn’t quite as formidable at the dancing game as Adrien had feared, however. Their scores went back and forth repeatedly over the course of several rounds. Ladybug stuck out her tongue as she concentrated on her steps. She could make every movement, but was having some trouble matching the timing. With each step she tried to move faster and faster.

Eventually, she tried to take a step too quickly and tripped over her own leg. She collapsed towards Adrien, landing them in a heap on the floor.

“Wow, you know, there are easier ways to mess up my score,” Adrien said. Ladybug was catching on that he wasn’t actually upset, and laughed first, Adrien joining her after a moment.

Throughout the evening they tried their hands at various games around Adrien’s room. He proved to be much better than her at making basketball shots, while Ladybug barely bested Adrien at table football. Then they moved on to his bedroom’s array of extreme sports - up his climbing wall towards his zipline.

“You know, all the times I’ve been here, and I still never noticed all this. Your dad is the most overprotective guy in the world, and yet he lets you have all this stuff in your bedroom?” she said, watching Adrien climb from below.

“I tend not to question it when my dad actually lets me have something nice,” he said as he reached the top and pulled himself onto the walkway. It was hard to tell from a distance, but she figured his small smile probably wasn’t all that sincere. “I don’t think he’s really all that worried about what might actually happen to me. I think he’s just super agoraphobic. I can’t remember the last time he actually chose to leave the house. He just stays up in his office, doing all his work there, having every meeting by video conference.”

Adrien had now reached the zipline, and readied himself to push off. “Besides, there’s nothing to worry about anyway. I know what I’m doing, it’s totally safe!”

He pushed himself away, and glided across his room. He swivelled to wave down to Ladybug as he went, and slipped, falling from his seat.

As if she’d expected it to happen, Ladybug was ready to spring into action, running to catch Adrien in her arms as he fell. He wrapped his arms around her neck. He took a few deep breaths before his look of shock turned into a smile.

“Well. At least, it’s safe as long as I’ve got you around to catch me when I fall.”

For a moment, they stared at each other happily. Then Ladybug sighed, setting Adrien down, and moving to sit on the end of his bed.

“Okay, real talk. Are we actually just insane for trying to do this, Adrien?” she said. She looked up at him in earnest, her eyes searching for a real answer to the question.

Adrien moved to sit down beside her. “Have you been… worrying about that a lot?”

“I don’t know… it just… of course, I want it to work… and being with you is so much fun. But… I was looking through pictures of my friends the other day. A lot of them are in relationships. And, you know, we’re still kids, anything could happen. How many people end up marrying their boyfriend or girlfriend from when they were 14? But the fact is they could. And that’s what gets me. It feels like this can’t really last forever... what kind of a future can we have like this, really?”

Adrien sat silently while Ladybug spoke, and took some real time to consider what she had said. All he wanted to do was reach out and hold her close. As much as they would both enjoy that, however, that wouldn’t exactly solve the problem she had brought to him for his help, and in fact would only prove her point.

“Well,” he said, slowly, considering his words with care. “A few things. First, we don’t have to be the same kind of couple as your friends. There are no rules about the right or wrong way to date.”

He chuckled at that, but Ladybug couldn’t bring herself even to smile. He straightened his face as he continued more sombrely.

“And, I hate to say it, but we need to be realistic to have a chance; the fact is maybe this won’t work out. It’s going to be hard. Real hard. And maybe we’ll find it just… wasn’t meant to be,” Adrien said. He swallowed and cleared his throat. His eyes were focused on his own knees to avoid seeing the look on her face at that moment. “But second… maybe it will be just fine. We’ll work out whatever ways we need to to make it work. You already thought about how we can talk to each other when we’re apart. We’ll figure out everything. It may just take some time.”

“But trust me when I say to you, Ladybug,” he said, looking up to meet her eyes. Both of them were tearing up, but Adrien blinked his away and smiled. “I am totally serious about this. Yeah, being with you _is_ a lot of fun, but it’s so much more than that. And I… I am in this for the long haul, Lovebug.”

Sniffing, Ladybug brought herself to smile. “Me too. Adrien, I… I promise you that one day, when all this is said and done… when Cat Noir and I have finally defeated Hawkmoth… I promise, the first moment I can, I… I’m going to tell you who I am, under this mask,” she said, and Adrien gasped. “I just hope, if… _when_ that time comes, that you can accept who I really am without this suit on…”

“Of course,” Adrien said in barely a whisper. The idea that he may not accept her under the mask, whoever she may be… it was unthinkable.

“Now… can I ask you something?” Adrien said. Ladybug nodded. “How… how do you deal with having to lie all the time? Gosh, sorry, that sounds awful…. I just mean having to make up stories to tell your friends and family about what’s going on when you’re not around? Because I felt pretty gross making up a story about why I was texting in class the other day… I once told a lie that upset someone so bad it got them akumatised… And that wasn’t even for a good reason, I just… got jealous I guess…”

It was something he’d worried about as Cat Noir, too. Adrien couldn’t explain the full reason for his worries, but he had to say something. Lies were coming harder and faster than ever now. He’d felt guilty about it even since Ladybug had made clear how she felt about lies when they’d fought Copycat. He hadn’t meant it to go that far when he told Théo that he and Ladybug were an item; it was supposed to be a silly joke, really. But he and Ladybug had helped Adrien see how damaging lies could be, and he’d been kicking himself for every cover story ever since.

Ladybug was a lot quicker to respond to Adrien than he had been to her. “Well, I never feel great about it, but I don’t really think of it as lying… to me a lie is trying to trick someone, or to get something… lying is when you’re not telling the truth to selfishly get what you want. When I have to pretend I want to go hang out in my room so I can leave to fight an akuma, I’m not doing that for selfish reasons. I hide my identity as Ladybug to protect the people I care about.”

“So… doesn’t that still mean we’re lying then? Telling my principal I was texting my dad wasn’t for some noble cause, it was to hide the fact that I have a girlfriend,” Adrien said. Ladybug frowned.

“It’s different. You’re still trying to protect your loved ones, like your friends and family, and, well, um… me. Okay, so technically we don’t _need_ to be in a relationship. But you know what, Hawkmoth can suck it, we deserve to be happy!”

At this, Adrien laughed. He wrapped his arms around Ladybug. “Thank you.”

“And as for telling a lie before… well, clearly you’ve learnt from that, you realised it wasn’t a good thing to do, and you’re sorry. Recognising you were wrong is hard, so I’m proud of you for growing from that.”

“I love you.”

Ladybug gasped, and her mouth stayed open wide, matched only by her eyes. She’d thought she had gotten over turning crimson around Adrien, but he had proved her wrong. He swallowed, but his smile did not falter.

“I’m sorry is it’s… too soon. If I’m rushing… but… ugh, whatever, I’m not ashamed of how I feel! Ladybug, you’re incredible, I’ve loved you from the moment you stood before Paris and spoke so beautifully about how you’d always be there to protect everyone. And now, getting to spend this time with you and getting to know you better, I’m more sure than ever. I love you, Ladybug.”

“I love you too.”

She said it without hesitation the moment he’d finished speaking. She didn’t think she could handle getting out such a wonderful sentiment as he had shared, so she opted instead to grab him, pull him close, and kiss him.


	15. The Poem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien shows Ladybug about the Valentines poem he received. Cat Noir talks to Marinette about her feelings for Adrien.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Adrien said a while later. He got up and moved around to his desk, unpinning something from a corkboard and bringing it back to show Ladybug.

She had to stifle a scream at what Adrien was holding.

“I wanted to thank you for the valentine you sent me,” he said, handing her the pink heart-shaped card. Ladybug’s mind went into overdrive.

 _Oh no. Oh no, this is bad. Adrien thinks that card is from Ladybug!? Why would he- Because the poem was_ for _Ladybug, you big dummy! Of course he wasn’t talking about Marinette. Just a girl who looks_ exactly like her! _I am such an idiot._

_But… it’s fine now, right? I can just say the card is from me, problem solved!_

_Except no, of course I can’t say that. Because that card is so obviously a reply to the poem he wrote, which he threw away in the bin in his classroom at his school to which Ladybug obviously doesn’t go! How could I possibly explain that that poem is from me without sounding insane!? Okay, so maybe going through the bin to find what he was writing wasn’t my best move, but that’s a lot better than Ladybug going into his school and taking the poem! I’ll just have to say it wasn’t me… And after everything we said earlier about lying..._

_Wait. But Adrien does think it was from me. But he has to realise it was an answer to his poem. How does he think I got the poem?_

Ladybug decided that that would have to be a question for another day. She pretended to read through the poem.

“Oh, wow, Adrien, this is lovely. But… I didn’t write this. You must have another admirer. She doesn’t have superpowers too, does she? I’d rather not have to fight for you,” she said, chuckling. Adrien stared at her impassively.

“The card… wasn’t from you? Then who…”

He turned away from Ladybug, thinking things through. He remembered what he had written in the poem, because he went through dozens of iterations of the same thing. He wrote very clearly - well, poetically, but close enough - about her appearance. Hadn’t he? He’d definitely mentioned her dark hair and blue eyes.

So, someone else thought his poem had been to them. Someone with dark hair and blue eyes… who had to be able to get hold of the paper he’d written on.

And it clicked.

_Maybe someone with a dozen pictures of me up on her bedroom wall?_

Adrien tried to downplay his realisation as he turned back to Ladybug. If she noticed anything odd, she said nothing.

 

* * *

 

Ladybug stayed a little while longer, but eventually they both grew tired enough that they knew she had to head home.

As she stood by the window, ready to leave, she turned back to Adrien.

“Hey, you should know… I told Cat Noir about us,” Ladybug said. Adrien seemed mildly surprised at most, so she pressed on. “Part of it was wanting to protect you… but part of it was just wanting fewer secrets. It can get to be a lot. So… I think it would be okay if you told someone about us.”

At this, Adrien reacted. His mouth fell open slightly, while his eyebrows got lost in his hair.

“Just… one person. Like a confidante. It just has to be someone who you know you can trust to keep the secret. Okay?”

Adrien nodded, and they embraced one last time before Ladybug swung out through the open window. Adrien stayed there, staring after Ladybug and waving her off until he could no longer see her. Which, at her speed, didn’t take long.

“How often is she going to come over?” Plagg asked. Adrien hadn’t noticed when his kwami had floated right up to his ear. “It’s boring having to stay hidden for that long. Is it gonna happen a lot?”

“I promise I’ll make it worth your while. That, and this. Plagg, claws out!”

“Wait, wha-!?”

 

* * *

 

Marinette had already transformed back by the time she collapsed into bed. Checking her clock, she decided she’d need to either start setting an alarm to leave Adrien’s house earlier, or come up with a better reason she was spending so many of her evenings quiet and alone in her room.

“Are you sure that was a good idea, Marinette?” Tikki asked. She did not sound fretful, more curious than anything. Marinette knew Tikki trusted her judgement, and just wanted to hear it out loud for herself.

“Absolutely. I trust Adrien completely, Tikki. I know he’ll pick someone who will keep his secret, and support him,” Marinette said. As she spoke she dug out her pyjamas and began to change.

“And what if he tells _Chloé_?”

Marinette paused, looking up at her kwami sombrely. “Well… if Adrien truly thinks telling Chloé he’s dating Ladybug is a good idea, then I don’t think he’ll be dating Ladybug for much longer.

Marinette laughed, and Tikki joined her. As Marinette climbed back up to bed, she heard a knock on her skylight. The pair exchanged a confused look, and the knock came again.

“Hide, Tikki. But stay close,” Marinette said, ready to open the latch. Tikki floated up to the ceiling right next to the skylight.

Marinette opened the hatch, and found Cat Noir sitting cross-legged on her roof, waiting by the skylight.

“Cat Noir?”

“Hi, Marinette - sorry, is this a bad time?”

“Well, I was about to go to bed…”

Cat Noir stood up quickly and took a step back. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think about the time. I’ll come back another day-”

“No, no, it’s okay. Um… why don’t you come inside?” Marinette said, beckoning Cat Noir to follow as she climbed back down.

Remembering the layout of the room from his previous visit, Cat Noir swung through the hole so as to be able to leap straight from the edge of the bed down to the floor. Despite his jump, his landing was practically silent.

Marinette rolled her eyes at his showing off. “So… not to sound rude, but why exactly are you here?”

Cat Noir stood in silence, as gears ground to a halt in his head. Why _was_ he there? Well, he knew the real answer, he just wanted to satisfy his own vain curiosity, but he couldn’t possibly say that.

His eyes darted around the room, trying to find something he could use, anything. They found the photo display behind Marinette’s computer. It no longer primarily bore pictures of himself, but instead showed off a collage of photos of their whole class. He wanted to ask about the change immediately.

_But how do you actually know there was something to change in the first place, Adrien?_

“I just wanted to swing by and… apologise for the attack the other day,” Cat Noir said, turning back to smile at Marinette, hoping she hadn’t noticed his moment of panic.

She did appear taken aback. “Um… thanks. But it’s okay, that’s just how it goes these days. Do you… go to apologise to many people after attacks?”

Cat Noir froze up for what felt like an age, but recovered after a moment and grinned his cheesiest grin, winking at Marinette as he said, “Well, no, not everyone… just those special few who’ve helped me out a lot, like you, little lady.”

Marinette frowned, but Cat Noir saw the smile in the corner of her mouth. “Okay, well thanks for stopping by, but maybe it’d be best if you left now,” she said, pushing Cat Noir back towards the ladder up to the skylight.

“So I noticed you’ve redecorated.”

It was a somewhat desperate attempt to get to the topic he’d come to talk about before Marinette could usher him out. It seemed to have done the trick, as she’d stopped walking and was looking up at him, pure horror across her face. She groaned loudly and turned around.

“You saw everything, didn’t you?” Marinette said. She slumped down onto her chaise lounge. Cat Noir took a seat next to her on the opposite side.

“Well, that depends. Was there more to see than the wall dedicated to Adrien Agreste’s face?” he asked with a light chuckle. Marinette buried her face in her hands. He hadn’t wanted to upset her like this, just to talk, like they had before...

Cat Noir placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Hey. Remember that night we spoke up on your balcony? We got interrupted by that giant ice cream man?”

“Uh huh…” Marinette said into her hands, still refusing to look at him.

“I was feeling really low that night. But you let me open up to you. I don’t get to talk that openly very often. And you made me feel a lot better about it. You don’t need to be ashamed or embarrassed about your feelings. Not around me, at least. Okay?”

Marinette managed to look at Cat Noir, and at the earnest smile on his face, she found herself able to smile back a little too. His face fell, however, as he remembered their previous conversation.

“You mentioned that night about having your heart broken, like me. So that… was Adrien?” he asked.

“Yeah… it was pretty silly, really. A bunch of us from school had made plans to get ice cream at André’s. Alya and Nino, Myléne and Ivan... Adrien was supposed to come, and I… I guess I hoped if they were all sharing ice cream, that he and I might…”

Marinette kept getting quieter as she spoke, eventually trailing off, but Cat Noir understood her meaning perfectly clear. “So you really like him then, huh?”

“Yeah…” Marinette sighed, and she thought back to earlier that evening; the time she had spent with Adrien, the words they’d exchanged. The realisation hit her like a bolt of lightning. Why was she sitting there feeling so low about Adrien not turning up that one time months ago? He was her boyfriend! They had been making out less than an hour ago!

She didn’t want to make Cat Noir suspicious of anything, however. She had to play it cool.

“Back then I got myself really upset about it. It… was actually my fault that André got akumatised. I do feel bad about that, even if it all turned out okay. But I won’t feel down about Adrien any more,” Marinette said. She turned on her seat to properly face Cat Noir, who looked a little taken aback. “I… I really do like Adrien. A lot. But there’s something more important than that… he’s one of my best friends. And that’s what he needs me to be, a friend.”

Cat Noir felt like he was seeing Marinette in a new light. He’d seen her be passionate about so much: her designing, gaming, serving as class representative, her friendships… but he never thought _he_ might be something that would light that fire in her eyes. Her face as she looked up at the ceiling was clearly so full of love. And yet, while he was sure there was plenty of that beneath the surface, too, it wasn’t a look like Ladybug had given him earlier than night. It was different. The love of a friend.

He smiled at her, feeling humbled.

“Adrien’s got so much going on in his life all the time. He needs people in his life who just support him. Who can help make sure he’s doing okay when it all gets too much, and to make sure he has everything he needs, especially when he doesn’t get that from home. And I feel so lucky to call Adrien my friend.”

Marinette positively beamed at him. Cat Noir could feel himself welling up yet again; having not had much opportunity to talk so openly about his feelings for some time, the past few weeks were really getting to him. He fought them back for now.

“I’m sure he feels the same way, Marinette. He definitely should. Hearing you say all that… who wouldn’t want a friend who cares about them so much?” Cat Noir said.

He stood up, and moved towards the ladder. He had his answers, and it was late. They had school in the morning, and he knew how poorly rested Marinette could be under the best of circumstances. Marinette got up with him, understanding his intent. He paused as he grabbed the ladder, however.

“I’m glad you’re doing so well. I was a little worried before, but… well, clearly that was unnecessary. I feel the same way about Ladybug, by the way,” he said. Marinette was clearly surprised, so he nodded. “I know she doesn’t feel for me the same way I do for her. But that’s okay. Getting to be her friend… her best friend, she told me… I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Cat Noir bade her goodnight, and scrambled up the ladder and out through the skylight, leaving a red-cheeked Marinette to smile fondly after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another super long chapter! Longest one yet! I guess that's just how it goes. I'm expecting the next one to be shorter, but at this point, who knows.
> 
> Finally giving some love to Marichat. It's harder to include, but very satisfying. :)


	16. Layers of Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien decides who to talk to about his secret. The rest of the class plot to use a class play to get Adrien & Marinette to confess.

Over the weekend Adrien took time to think about who he wanted to tell that he had a secret girlfriend. Two years ago it would have been a simple choice, as Chloé had been his only friend. One year ago, again, his choice would have been premade, as Nino had taken Adrien under his wing to learn about schoollife. Now, however, he was lucky enough to have so many friends - there wasn’t anyone in his class he wouldn’t have called his friend.

Special mention went to Nino, Marinette, and Alya, of course. Ever since he’d fallen ill they had been spending more time together, always eating lunch together when they could - ensuring Adrien got to eat some more fun treats than his regular planned diet allowed.

Having such good friends was a blessing, of course, but it made the decision for the one friend he could talk to about Ladybug much harder.

He heard Madame Bustier call his name, so he put a pin in the thought for the time being to concentrate on the class.

“I’m sorry, Miss Bustier, would you please repeat that?” he said. He became rather self-conscious as all eyes turned to him.

“I haven’t started the lesson yet, Adrien,” she said, smiling with her mouth, but frowning with her eyes. Adrien blushed a little as he heard a few quiet titters from his classmates around him.

“Now then,” Miss Bustier said, addressing the whole class. “We’re nearing the end of our unit on the works of Shakespeare, but as his plays were just that; plays, I thought it would be nice if we as a class performed one for the school!”

“Oh, that would be fun!” Myléne said, clapping her hands together. A few people around the room murmured, not altogether enthusiastic, but nobody raised an opposition.

“But which play, Miss Bustier?” Max asked.

“Well, as it’s a project for the whole class, I thought I’d leave it up to all of you to decide,” she said. This garnered some more interested mumbles from the class, and Rose shot her hand up excitedly. “But not a play we’ve already looked at in detail, such as Romeo and Juliet, Rose.”

Rose put her hand down and pouted, while Juleka patted her shoulder.

The class spent some time discussing what they knew of Shakespeare’s plays, besides those they had already studied. That proved difficult, as most people hadn’t had much exposure to Shakespeare outside of the classroom. Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Othello were all eliminated. It didn’t take long for the class to decide that they should perform one of the comedies, as they’d rather be able to have fun with it more than take it too seriously. Sabrina suggested Twelfth Night.

“Sure, but then who plays the brother and sister?” Nino asked. “They’re supposed to be identical right? Or else the play doesn’t work?”

“How about Ivan and Juleka?” Chloé said with a scoff. “They’ve both got that whole emo/goth/punk thing going on, can anyone really tell them apart?”

Ivan and Juleka looked to each other, frowning in indignant confusion. Juleka rolled her eyes, and Ivan nodded. They shared a small smile, silently agreeing to just ignore Chloé’s spiteful words.

“Well, Nino,” Miss Bustier said, as her eyes rapidly darted between Chloé, Ivan, and Juleka. “That’s true of the characters, but that certainly doesn’t have to be true of our cast. We can put the production together however we want.”

“Oh, sweet,” Nino said. He perked up, ready to riff on other ideas.

“Well, how about A Midsummer Night’s Dream?” Nathaniel suggested. “It’s got a lot of different roles, and all the magic and fairies involved would be a lot of fun to design around.”

“Ugh, no, there’s gotta be one we could do where the women aren’t all pushovers and the men aren’t all jerks,” Alya said.

“What if we genderbent it?” Nino suggested. “That works for us anyway, we have more girls in class than guys. And also...”

Nino leaned across the desk and whispered something into Alya’s ear. The whole class could see, but none as well as Marinette, as Alya’s eyes eyes moved to look at Marinette and grin broadly.

“Okay, I’m sold, let’s do it,” Alya said.

“Wonderful! All in favour of performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream?” Miss Bustier asked. The class voted unanimously in favour, even though many hands were raised slowly, sceptical looks being cast towards Nino and Alya.

Miss Bustier then dismissed the class for lunch, asking them all to think about which parts they’d like to play. The plan was to have all parts locked in by the afternoon.

 

* * *

 

The school cafeteria was set to serve pizza that day, so most of the class was headed there for lunch. Nino and Adrien led the way, chatting away, Marinette and Alya close behind them. Just outside the entrance, however, Adrien turned around.

“Hey, Marinette. Can I have a quick word with you privately, please?” he asked. He had made up his mind.

Despite his smile, Marinette felt the intensity of Adrien’s gaze on her. For a moment it was a year ago again, and she found herself flustered.

“Y-yeah, sure thing, Adrien. Um… weed the lay - I mean lead the way!” she said. Adrien stepped past her, and Marinette pressed her palm to her forehead, earning a silent chuckle from both Alya and Nino. The look didn’t last long, however, as Adrien had grabbed Marinette’s hand and was pulling her away.

“Any idea what that’s all about?” Alya asked.

“No clue,” Nino said. He adjusted his cap to get a better look at the pair walking away.

A high pitched “Hm!” came from behind them, and they turned to see Rose smiling sweetly at them, with Juleka beside her barely concealing a grin. They were walking with Kim, Max, and Alix, all looking bemused.

“She’s got a point, Alya,” Nino said with a sigh. Alya gave him a smirking side eye. They followed the others to find a table.

 

* * *

 

After turning corners perhaps enough times to end up still right outside the cafeteria, Adrien settled on pulling Marinette into an empty, currently unused classroom. He had to be absolutely sure they would not be eavesdropped on or accidentally overheard.

“Sorry, Marinette, this won’t take long, but there’s something I really need to talk to you about,” Adrien said. He seemed rather nervous, his eyes darting all around the room.

Marinette’s mind began racing with all the possibilities of what Adrien may wish to say to her at that moment that was so important and private.

“Okay, so,” he began, pausing to swallow. “I've got… this secret.”

And the reason Adrien had dragged Marinette off alone crashed down on her. The reason why he's been so shifty and nervous.

 _And… he's chosen_ me!?

Adrien took a deep breath. “I have a girlfriend. But… I can't explain why, but I have to keep it a secret.”

Despite still being stunned she was having this conversation with Adrien, the words she'd said to Cat Noir a few nights ago came back to her; Adrien needed Marinette as a friend. A friend who wasn't in love with him. That was the head space she needed to be in in that moment. She put on a grin.

“Probably something to do with your dad, I imagine,” she said.

“Yeah. Something like that,” Adrien said, giving an appreciative half-smile back.

“Well, congratulations Adrien, that's wonderful!!” Marinette said, with such obvious sincerity that Adrien felt his heart swell for his friend. Marinette could see a huge tension lift from his shoulders. “But I have to ask… why me? I dunno, why not Nino?”

Without pause, Adrien said, “Nino is great, but he's… not exactly great when it comes to relationships…”

Marinette giggled. “Right. I remember when he had a crush on me, and you were giving him advice,” she said. She failed to mention that by that same merit she should absolutely be disqualified from fulfilling the role Adrien seemed to be bestowing upon her.

“Plus I wouldn’t want to ask Nino to keep something from his girlfriend, and I know you’re Alya’s best friend as well, but…” Adrien trailed off, and seemed to decide to carry on on a different track. “So I was hoping from time to time I might be able to just… talk things through with you? If that's okay. Just… to be someone who knows what’s going on with me, and why things might seem so strange. And you’re so good at everything you do as class rep, so I figured you'd be a big help…”

He took a deep breath and looked up at a beaming Marinette, and smiled. “And I just thought… of all my friends… you’d be the one who would be most happy to know how happy this is making me.”

Marinette stifled a squeak, and breathed in deeply in hopes of combatting her rising blush. She smiled wider still. “You were right.”

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Adrien’s life had changed a lot over the past few weeks, but one change he hadn’t taken enough time to appreciate was how much closer he’d become with his friends since they’d started taking him to lunch every day.

He stepped towards Marinette, and pulled her into a hug. She embraced him back. Something about the hug felt familiar to Adrien. It felt like home.

“We should probably get back and join the others for lunch,” Adrien said as he eventually stepped back. “Or Alya will come running in and force me to eat!”

They laughed together easily. “You go ahead, I’ll catch up in a moment.”

Adrien cocked his head at Marinette, but shrugged it off, and headed back to the cafeteria.

“Tikkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Tikki floated out of Marinette’s bag and couldn’t help but smile.

“Can you believe it? Adrien picked _me_ as the one person to talk to about us…” Marinette sighed.

“Of course I can believe it. You’re one of his best friends, you’re very important to him,” Tikki said. She considered saying something about Adrien talking to her about their own relationship, but thought better of it. It went both ways, after all…

“Okay. Just had to get the out of my system. Let’s get back.”

 

* * *

 

Alya and Nino had pulled another table up to where Rose, Juleka, and Alix were sitting to eat with them. Alya wanted to make a point of actively not listening to Rose’s speculation about Adrien and Marinette. It was made more difficult by her wanting to refute each and every word Rose spoke.

“Well why don’t we try to do something to find out?” Alix suggested, cutting Rose off from analysing Adrien’s lack of focus that morning.

“That’s more like it. If you want me to believe this theory, Rose, let’s see some hard proof,” Alya said, punctuating her last two words by slapping the side of her hand into her other palm. “What did you have in mind, Alix?”

“Well…” Nino interjected. “I said back in class, Alya... we’re about to put on a romantic play. What if we made sure they were the lead actors?”

“Ooh, I like it. Then if they’re not together already, they will be for sure by the final curtain,” Alix said.

“Of course, if you want to ensure Marinette plays the lead, you will have to deal with the Bourgeois problem,” Max pointed out, as he and Kim approached the table with their dinner trays.

“I’ll take care of Chloé, don’t sweat it,” Kim said.

“Is this just turning into a class project to get Marinette and Adrien together now?” Juleka asked, grinning around at the gathering of half of their class.

“We don’t need to get them together, because they’re already together,” Rose pouted. “Just watch. You want proof? If they come back separately now, then they’ll just be trying to cover up that they’ve spent the last ten minutes alone together.”

As soon as Rose finished speaking, the door opened and Adrien walked in.

“Yo man, we’ve got you covered,” Nino said, sliding a tray towards Adrien, fully laden with pizza.

Thirty seconds later, Marinette appeared. Alya refused to so much as look at Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dorks.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying it, let me know!
> 
> Just a heads up, I've caught up with my backlog now, so updates might slow down a little, but I'll try to keep them as every other day. I've got a week off coming up which will help.


	17. The Play's the Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class are cast for their roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

“So, what parts do people want to play?” Kim asked.

The group had finished eating and gone out to spend the end of their break in the park to enjoy the sunshine.

“Ooh, I want to play Titania, Queen of the Fairies!” Rose said, rising to her feet and striking a dramatic pose.

“We’re genderbending it, Rose, remember?” Alya pointed out. She was stretched out, supporting herself with her hands behind her back. She squinted up at Rose in the bright light.

“Oh. Right. Then I'll be Oberon, King of the Fairies!” Rose said, taking the exact same pose.

The group laughed, and starting recommending roles to play to each other.

“Adrien, back me up here, Juleka would be great as the Duke of Athens, right?” Nino asked, playfully punching Adrien’s arm.

“Sure. But I think what’s important is we have fun with it and everyone gets to play the part they want to play,” Adrien said. His smile was bright enough to prevent anyone from grumbling about how sweetly diplomatic he was being. “What about you, Marinette? Who do you want to play?”

“Oh, ah, well, um…” Marinette said, her eyes darting wildly. “Maybe… Horatio?”

The group snickered, and Marinette grinned. Max spoke up, saying, “So, didn’t get a chance to read this one?”

“Yeah… I tried to keep up with it all, but there was a lot of reading… I read all the ones we talked about in class! I just didn’t expect this…” Marinette sighed, and slumped back against the tree she was leaning on. “Do I have to be in the play? Can’t I just… produce it? Make costumes?”

“Nuh uh, no way, not this time, we’re _all_ doing this, together. So deal with it,” Alya said.

Marinette groaned and looked around at her circle of friends, all smiling mischievously at her. “Fine. Go ahead, do it. Tell me who I should play.”

“Oh, there’s no question, 100% Lysander,” Nino said. Marinette scrutinised him.

“Why are you so sure? Oh no, is he some scatterbrained dork who's always late for everything?” Marinette said. She covered her face with her hands, giving Alya, sitting next to Nino, the chance to turn and glare at her boyfriend, pointedly telling him to _fix this_.

Fortunately, as ever, Adrien came to the rescue. “I dunno. I think Marinette would be pretty great as Peter Quince,” he said. Marinette looked up at him, sitting across from her in the circle in a dappled beam of sunlight that shone almost as brightly as his smile.

“Quince is a more minor character, but that's kind of the point. He's the director of a play in the play, and even in his own play he plays a minor role. But he works hard trying to get everything organised and help everyone out. You know,” Adrien said, beaming at Marinette, “just like you.”

_Stop it stop it stop blushing he is your boyfriend he says stuff like this all the time!_

_Yeah, but… now he's saying it about Marinette, not Ladybug._

_Wait...is he still talking!?_

He was.

“On the other hand, because you’re so confident and proactive, you’d be great with a bigger part too, so maybe you would be better off with one of the lead roles…”

Marinette weighed up the which would be more embarrassing; to have Adrien see her turn bright red, or to inexplicably climb the tree behind her to avoid her face being seen. Fortunately for Marinette, she had the best best friend in the world, who could see her need for a distraction.

“Okay, so here’s the deal, Nino is gonna be Helena. Helena is totally in love with Demetrius - that’s me, but Demetrius isn’t interested because he wants to marry another girl, Hermia. And then the Fairies want to help out by making Demetrius fall in love with Helena, but they screw up and make Lysander - that’s you - fall in love with him instead,” Alya explained. Adrien was about to interject, but the rest of the group spoke over him.

“It’ll be so funny with you guys in the main roles!” Rose said.

“It’s a perfect fit,” Max added.

“Go on, Marinette, go for it!” Kim said.

Marinette smiled at her friends encouragement, little knowing their true motives or what they were keeping from her. She nodded, and the group cheered. At that, they realised their lunch hour was almost over, and they had to head back. Adrien smiled and shook his head, staying at the back of the group.

“So, do you think maybe we forgot to mention something to Marinette?” he asked Nino as they walked.

“No, I don’t think so…” Nino said, but then he snapped his fingers and smirked. “Oh, I guess we didn’t mention _your_ part…”

 

* * *

 

Miss Bustier was ready and waiting for the class as they filed back in from lunch. Ivan, Myléne, and Nathaniel were the first ones back, waiting in their seats as the larger group came in. Chloé and Sabrina were the last to return.

“So, I’m sure some of you have had some thoughts about the parts you’d like to play,” Miss Bustier said, looking around. Some faces looked eager, others nervous. Miss Bustier laughed. “On the other hand, I’m sure others haven’t read the play yet. That’s all right. We’re going to be reading for each of the parts.”

“Well, just as long as I end up in the lead role. I won’t be playing some minor supporting character that gets killed off in the first act,” Chloé said, interrupting the moment Miss Bustier paused in her speech. Miss Bustier’s smile twitched for just a moment.

“In that case, Chloé, would you like to come up and read for-”

“Wait, Chloé, I know the perfect part for you,” Kim said quickly, raising his hand by way of apology for interrupting their teacher again. “In the play there’s another play, a bunch of actors are rehearsing for it, and there’s this guy called Nick who’s the lead actor, and the other actors all kinda need his help. Oh, and then the Queen of the Fairies falls in love with him.”

Chloé placed a finger on her chin, giving a needlessly loud “Hmm.” Sabrina tried to speak up, but Chloé ignored her and spoke louder. “Sounds perfect. Miss Bustier, that’s the part I want!”

Nathaniel snorted loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Sorry,” he said bashfully. “That was, uh… a sneeze.”

“Very well. Chloé, why don’t you come down to the front and read through a scene. And we’ll need someone to read as the director, Peter Quince?” Miss Bustier said, catching everyone’s eyes hopefully.

“Come on, Sabrina,” Chloé said as she made her way to the front. Sabrina groaned, but obediently followed nonetheless.

On Miss Bustier’s desk sat enough copies of the playscript printed for everyone. Miss Bustier flicked through to find the right page, handing one first to Chloé, then Sabrina.

The pair gave an awkward, clumsy reading, but were true to their parts. Chloé performed with an overabundance of confidence, pausing in the middle of her own lines and interrupting Sabrina’s to comment on how great her character was. Sabrina, on the other hand, was flustered, clearly nervous about something.

“Wonderful, girls, thank you,” Miss Bustier said as they eventually reached the end of their page. “Well… is there anyone else who would like to read for one of these parts?”

The room remained silent. Looking around, however, Marinette could feel a tension in the room. Half of the class were biting their lips or breathing deeply, laughter just barely held back.

“In that case, Sabrina will play Peter Quince, and Chloé will play Nick Bottom,” Miss Bustier said. The class hid their laughter by applauding the pair. Chloé’s eyes went wide and glanced down at her script, before turning to glare at Sabrina, who recoiled and ran back to her seat.

Miss Bustier began to go though the rest of the major characters. Kim ended up as Titania, but while Rose read opposite him as Oberon, she realised part way through she would rather play Puck, winking at Alya when she was confirmed for the part. Alix was cast as Oberon instead. Alya and Nino were confirmed for Demetrius and Helena respectively.

Ivan raised his hand when Miss Bustier asked if anyone was interested in playing Helena. However, Kim leaned across the aisle to whisper in his ear, and, with a soft laugh, he put his hand down.

“Go on, dude,” Nino whispered, nudging Adrien in the side when he did nothing. Adrien shook his head, but raised his hand anyway.

“Wonderful, Adrien, come on down to the front. And who wants to read opposite Adrien as Lysander?”

Marinette scowled, and, out of the corner of her mouth she hissed at Alya, “And _why_ would the part you want _me_ to play read opposite the part you want _Adrien_ to play?” She failed to notice Alya taking her wrist and lifting her hand up.

“Marinette? Would you like to, or is that just Alya’s choice?” Miss Bustier asked, earning a few small laughs from others.

Marinette gave Alya a quick glare, before rising and moving to the front of the class. “I would like to try, Miss Bustier.”

As she glanced down the page she had been given to read, Marinette pressed her tongue to her cheek and shot a quick glare towards Alya. Alya gave a thumbs up back.

“How now… my love,” Marinette said slowly. She took a breath, and continued, giving it her best effort. She could be normal in front of Adrien, of course she could. She had to act that she was in love with him? Easy, she just had to act natural. “Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast?”

Marinette spoke with tender concern, taking a step towards Adrien as she did so. When she looked up at Adrien, she had to bite her lip to stop from laughing as she saw that Adrien’s cheeks were certainly not pale.

“Uh… right. Belike for want of rain, which I could well beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.”

Marinette and Adrien read through the page, earning a smattering of applause from the class as they finished. Adrien grinned and took a deep bow.

“That was wonderful, thank you both. Now, the rest of the parts are-” Miss Bustier began to say as the pair returned to their seats, when she was interrupted yet again.

“Excuse me, Miss Bustier, but I’ve changed my mind, I want to be lies-and-a-whatever if Adrien is this Hermione,” Chloé said, standing up.

“Sorry, Chloé, but you’ve got your part and you’re the only one who wanted it. But you can be Marinette’s understudy,” Miss Bustier said, smiling brightly. Chloé looked like she wanted to make another retort, but she bit her tongue and sat down.

The rest of the class were assigned the remaining roles, some taking multiple parts if theirs were a little small. Miss Bustier asked them all to take their scripts home to practise, but to make sure they brought them back to school each day.

Outside school, on the front steps, Marinette and Alya delayed heading home to chat for a while about the play.

“I can’t believe you’d set me up like that, you jerk,” Marinette said, her smile betraying her lack of sincerity.

“Well, I had to do _something_. You two were going nowhere fast. Even if you’ve actually managed to learn how to speak around him n-n-n-now,” Alya said. Marinette laughed.

“Hey, come on, I got over that total stuttering phase after, like, a month,” Marinette said. “Except for just… sometimes when he surprises me, that’s all…”

“When who surprises you?” came Adrien’s voice. The girls turned and saw him heading down the steps towards them.

“Oh! H-h-hadrien! I mean, hey Adrien!” Marinette said. She focused her attention fully on him to better block out Alya’s smug face.

“So, the play looks like it’ll be a lot of fun, huh? I’m really glad I’ll be playing opposite you, Marinette,” Adrien said, beaming beatifically, as always.

Marinette completely froze up, so Alya leaned her elbow on Marinette’s shoulder and decided she would, yet again, help out.

“Oh really? And why’s that, Adrien?”

“Well, to be honest,” Adrien said, looking away sheepishly. “I’d half-expected Chloé to find a way to get one of the bigger parts. And that would have been awkward… we grew up together, she’s more like a sister to me than anything.”

“Besides,” he went on, walking past the girls as his car pulled up. “I can’t imagine it being half as fun if someone else had the part.”

Adrien waved, then got in the car, and was off. Marinette still had not moved.

“Marinette? You all right there?” Alya asked.

“Hold me up,” Marinette squeaked, as, still totally rigid, she began to fall forward. Alya rushed to catch her, and laughed as she pushed Marinette back to her feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh man I got some serious writers block on this one. Hopefully now though, with a week off work, I can spend some time to get plenty more written and build up a new reserve. Let's see how well that goes XD
> 
> Apologies if this all seems like too much specific detail about a particular play and you have no idea what's going on though. It's a great play though, a lot of fun, if you enjoy this you should go check it out :P
> 
> Some would say I'm having my cake and eating it too by having Marinette still get so flustered when Adrien is so complimentary. But I am absolutely fine with that, I want every cake.


	18. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug comes over to help Adrien learn his lines. They decide to get some fresh air.

“Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood; and to speak troth, I have forgot our way…” Marinette read aloud, before collapsing back on her bed. “Man, I just can’t get this. It might help if I had a clue what they were actually saying…”

“My love, you look tired, and to be honest, I’m lost,” Tikki called. She was sitting on Marinette’s desk below, snacking away on a large plate of cookies. Marinette looked over the edge of the bed and down at her. “What? I’ve been around a while. I’ve know Shakespeare, Marinette.”

Marinette squinted. “You mean you know his plays, right? Not like, you know _William Shakespeare_?”

Tikki laughed, and Marinette joined her for a moment, but she was soon moaning again.

“I need a break…” she said, reaching for her phone. She opened her secret email account.

Ladybug: Having a good evening, Pretty Boy?

 

* * *

 

“Be it so, Lysander. Find you out a bed, for I upon this bank will rest my head,” Adrien said slowly. He was sitting in his desk chair, focusing intensely on the script in his hand. He waited for a while. “Plagg, come on, I need you to read the line, how else am I going to learn the script?”

“No. I’m not doing it, Adrien. I’ll do a lot for you, kid, but I refuse to act out some love scene with you. Find someone else to play with,” Plagg said. He had been sitting on Adrien’s desk, a digital copy of the script displayed on one of the monitors. As he finished speaking, however, he fled back to his bin, turning it upside down to indicate he did not wish to be disturbed.

Adrien sighed, but at that moment he received Ladybug’s email. With a smile, he replied.

Adrien: Not bad. Trying to practise my lines for a play we’re doing at school, Midsummer Night’s Dream. Wanna come over and read lines with me?

 

* * *

 

The moment Marinette read through the reply, she moved to action. “That’s perfect! Adrien and I can practise our lines together, and being Ladybug will help me feel more confident before having to do it for real as Marinette. Let’s go, Tikki!”

“I don’t know, Marinette,” Tikki said, flying up to Marinette’s side. “You really shouldn’t need to be transformed just to be able to talk around him…”

“Oh, it’s not that I’m not confident as Marinette. It’s that he gets so adorably flustered around Ladybug,” Marinette said, winking and poking the tip of her tongue out.

“Well, I can’t argue with that logic,” Tikki giggled.

“Tikki, spots on!”

 

* * *

 

It took Ladybug only a few minutes to swing her now familiar route. As she approached Adrien’s still closed window, she realised she had forgotten to confirm that she’d come over. He caught sight of her as she was swinging, however, and was opening the window just as she came to stop outside it.

“But soft,” she said as the glass opened outwards, and she saw Adrien’s face light up. “What light through yonder window breaks? ‘Tis the east, and Adrien is the sun.”

Adrien laughed as Ladybug swung into the room and kissed him.

“You’ve read some Shakespeare too, Lovebug?” Adrien asked, leading her to his sofa to sit comfortably together.

“I dabble. I’m a woman of a great many cultures, Adrien,” Ladybug said, placing a hand on her chest and putting on a fake snooty accent. “So, tell me more about the play you’re doing.”

Adrien summarised the play in full, and Ladybug’s laughter at the plot (particularly regarding Chloé’s role of Nick Bottom, the weaver) was genuine, as she’d not yet managed to read through the whole play.

“So, would it be all right to read through some of the lines with you?” Adrien asked.

“Sure,” Ladybug said, flipping through his script. She skimmed over the highlighted lines on each page until she found the right one. “Why don’t we start here?”

Adrien glanced down at the lines, and laughed. “Really? ‘What love could press Lysander from my side’, huh? Didn’t want to do the cute romantic scene, no, you go for the scene where you’re in love with the other girl, huh?”

Ladybug winked at him, and began reciting the following lines, standing dramatically and walking away from Adrien. As they read through the scene, Adrien began desperately chasing Ladybug across the room, while she performed more and more elaborate and over-the-top maneuvers to avoid him.

“Get you gone, you dwarf, you minimus of hindering knotgrass made, you bead, you acorn!” Ladybug cried, holding a flat palm up to Adrien at the top of his spiral staircase. He stopped trying to move forwards as he registered her words. Ladybug took a moment to think it through too, and they both burst out laughing.

“Does Lysander really call Hermia an acorn?” Adrien asked, his eyes scanning the page to find the absurd sentence.

“As a dramatic insult, no less,” Ladybug chuckled. “Who writes this stuff?”

“That’d be William Shakespeare, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the history of the English language,” Adrien said, sniggering a little.

“Yeah, well, English is overrated,” Ladybug said. Adrien’s laugh died down, and he took a seat on a step. Ladybug leant against the banister at the top.

Adrien looked down upon his room, then up at Ladybug, and sighed.

“What’s up?” she asked, moving to sit next to him.

“I just… I wish we didn’t have to spend all our time cooped up in here. Okay, bad turn of phrase,” Adrien said, as Ladybug looked around the vast room with wide eyes. “But I mean… my father keeps me in here all the time. And you visiting makes it so much better, but… I wish I could spend time with you out of here.”

Ladybug frowned and looked at her feet. She had the luxury of considering this time with Adrien extra time, when they could be close and intimate, but she was able to see him every day, sitting right behind him in every class. She had an unfair advantage, and there was no way to fix that. Instead, all she could do was make sure to give Adrien everything she could.

Ladybug stood, and held out her hand to Adrien. “Come with me.”

Without hesitation, Adrien placed his hand in Ladybug’s, and stood as well. He allowed her to lead him down the stairs, to the window.

“Ladybug, what are-”

“Do you trust me?”

Adrien blinked as he processed the question, but that was his only moment of hesitation. “Of course I do,” he said. He paused, grinned, and added, “Aladdin.”

Ladybug mirrored his smile as she took out her yoyo and pulled him to her side. She flung it into the air, and after it had found its mark she gave it a tug. Ladybug was confident it was secure, but with Adrien along for the ride she _had_ to be certain.

“Good, Ladybug said. She took a few steps back, then ran and leapt at the window. “Because I can show you the world.”

Adrien laughed and held himself more tightly against her. Ladybug swung for a few blocks, gaining height as she moved towards taller buildings. Eventually, however, she moved to racing across rooftops, at which point she lifted Adrien’s legs to carry him bridal style.

“I can’t share as much with you as I want to. But I can share this with you; Paris, as I get to see it. We live in the most beautiful city in the world… but only Cat Noir and I get to see it quite like this…”

Adrien was glad he couldn’t tell her that none of this was new for him. As beautiful as Paris most certainly was, he got to see it all the time. Ladybug, on the other hand, he did not get to see nearly as much as he wanted to, so he took the opportunity to nuzzle more against her and stare up at her face.

Ladybug raced and leapt across rooftops as calmly and serenely as a normal person might just walk down the street. She was focused, and concentrating on the task at hand, but she moved with such grace and ease, even with him in her arms; even though she could not hold her yoyo at the ready.

That is, until without warning she let go of his legs and took her yoyo out to swing once again. Adrien gulped, but Ladybug turned to him and smiled, squeezing him a little tighter with the arm wrapped around his torso. He relaxed, knowing he there was nowhere he could feel safer than in her arms.

Looking around, however, Adrien realised he wasn’t quite sure where they were. Ladybug landed them atop a building, and a rather tall one at that, but far from the highest point in Paris. With his feet on solid ground, Adrien looked around. The Eiffel Tower stood tall in one direction, Tour Montparnasse in another. Bridges crossed the seine stretching below them, streets criss-crossed in all directions. There were museums, there were parks, and, on the horizon, there was the sunset.

Ladybug sat down cross-legged on the centre of the roof. “There are lots of places people can go to see Paris. But I like to find little places like this, places most people wouldn’t notice or even think about. Places where nobody else can go. Places where I can get a unique view of the city…”

Adrien smiled and sat down by her side, taking in the view of the setting sun. “You’re right. Wow. This is… stunning.”

Ladybug turned to Adrien, to see the orange glow shining on his face, in his hair, through his smile. Adrien turned to see the same in Ladybug, as well as the rising moon reflected in her eyes.

Adrien took Ladybug’s hand in his, and she saw the slightest falter in his smile. Her face fell.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. She followed his eyes as they dropped to their held hands.

“I just… I wish I could… hold your hand… for real. Nothing in the way,” he said. His smile spread unnaturally wide.

Ladybug pulled Adrien close against her side, resting his head on her shoulder. Once comfortable, she took his hand back in hers again.

“Adrien. Close your eyes,” she said.

The last thing Adrien saw was the sun just disappearing over the horizon. He wasn’t sure what Ladybug was doing, but he knew to follow her instructions always.

Ladybug didn't stop to check. She didn't look down at Adrien. She knew she could trust him.

_The sun goes down…_

_The moon is out…_

_I see her smile…_

“Spots off,” Ladybug said.

 

 

She felt Adrien’s sharp intake of breath more than she heard it, and she could hear it perfectly clearly. Adrien saw a bright glow under his eyelids. He screwed them tighter until it faded.

If Marinette hadn't already known, this would have confirmed for her that Adrien truly remembered nothing about that first night she'd visited him when he was sick those weeks ago. She sighed in contentment, snuggling in closer.

Adrien was in heaven. His lady’s hand felt warm and soft, and somehow so much smaller now than with her suit on. His thumb stroked the back of her hand, and she felt hers do the same back to his. Under his ear he felt her jacket, and he knew his hair must be tickling her neck.

Tikki fluttered in front of the pair, and saw Marinette had closed her eyes too. The fingers of her other hand were now entangled in Adrien’s hair. Tikki melted at the sight of the couple, so happy and content just to be able to sit together. She zipped back into Marinette’s bag for a snack.

Marinette and Adrien each cherished every moment they had spent together as a couple. They'd had so much fun together, and most certainly enjoyed the intimacy of kissing. This, however… not that kissing wasn't, but… it was tender, and soft, and so simple… total contentment. They both knew it was a moment they'd each remember for years to come.

It was…

_Miraculous._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you ordered some extra cheese with all that fluff.
> 
> I love this image that the most romantic thing these two could do together is just to hold hands.
> 
> UPDATE: Now with an adorable set of sketches depicting that lovely little moment! Courtesy of my wonderful fiancé, Alex. You can find more of her work at ptchew.tumblr.com.


	19. Mrs Sandman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlena Césaire just wants to rest on her day off. Hawkmoth can help her make everyone rest.

Sunday morning for many is a sleepy time, a time to lay in until late, time to relax and not worry about the rest of the world.

It was supposed to be that way for Marlena Césaire, as it was a rare day off for the head chef of Le Grand Paris. Unfortunately, that was to be interrupted.

“I wanna go to the park!”

“I wanna go to the movies!”

“Park!”

“Movies!”

“Park!”

“Movies!”

“Ella, Etta, shh, please, Maman’s trying to sleep,” Marlena said, rolling over and covering her head with her pillow. “Why are you in here anyway? Where’s daddy?”

“He had to go to work!” said one twin. Marlena bolted upright.

“There was an emergency with the panther!” said the other. “He said Alya could play with us today.”

“And… where is Alya?” Marlena asked, rubbing her temple. One of the girls handed her a note.

_Heading over to Marinette’s to rehearse our play. I’ll eat dinner there - Alya_

“Okay,” Marlena sighed. She smiled at the twins. “Well that’s okay. More time I get to spend with you two today. But… what if you watch TV for just… half an hour?”

“But we’re _hungry!_ ” they called together.

Marlena sighed.

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, Marlena was already on her third cup of coffee. After an intense debate over what to have for breakfast, there was a dispute over what to watch on TV. This was followed by an argument over whose clothes were whose, before finally returning to the original issue of how they would spend the day.

“I wanna go to the movies!”

“I wanna go to the park!”

“But before you said you wanted to go to the movies!”

“Nuh uh, that was you!”

“Nuh uh! Maman!”

“Maman!”

The children flanked Marlena, tugging on her pyjamas and screaming at her repeatedly. Marlena tried to grit her teeth and bear it out, but-

“WOULD YOU TWO JUST CUT IT OUT FOR FIVE MINUTES!?” she bellowed, flecks of spit flying from her lips. For a moment, Ella and Etta both looked horrified, but then their faces fell.

“Sorry, Maman,” they said in unison, dolefully traipsing back to their room.

For a moment, Marlena considered going to apologise to the girls. Still feeling angry, however, she decided it would be better to wait and cool off first, and get the rest she so clearly needed.

 

* * *

 

Elsewhere in Paris, Marlena’s outburst was being observed.

“Ah, children can be such a blessing. And such a burden when one needs their rest,” the purple-suited villain said.

As one of the dozens of pure white butterflies fluttered towards him, Hawkmoth closed his hands around it, and transformed it into an akuma.

“Fly away, little akuma! And evilise this weary mother!”

 

* * *

 

In no time at all, the akuma had made its way to Marlena’s bedroom. She had opted to get dressed before going to her children, ready to take them out to see a film _and_ play in the park.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, when a horrible, blaring noise stopped her. She growled in frustration, turning around to shut off her alarm clock. As her hand made contact with it, so too did the akuma.

“Mrs Sandman. I am Hawkmoth. I’m so sorry to disturb you, but I see your children beat me to it. I’m giving you the power to give to everyone in Paris what you so sorely need; more rest. All I ask in return is that you give Ladybug and Cat Noir a break by bringing me their Miraculous,” Hawkmoth said. He smirked as he felt the wave of relief washing over his latest victim.

“Yes, Hawkmoth, I’ll make sure everyone gets a good night’s sleep,” she said.

Hawkmoth’s power overtook her, and she transformed. Her skin turned a deep navy blue like the night’s sky, dotted with bright stars. A long flowing nightgown materialised around her, along with a bobbly nightcap on her head. The digital bedside clock morphed and became a large analogue clock that she wore as a pendant, and a small bag appeared in her hand.

Moments later, she burst into Ella and Etta’s room. The twins barely had time to notice there was anything different before Mrs Sandman took a handful of sand from her bag and blew it at the children. In an instant, they fell fast asleep in their beds. Mrs Sandman laughed quietly.

“Sweet dreams, my darlings. Now for the rest of the city.”

Mrs Sandman ran through the flat to the balcony, and from there she jumped across rooftops, blowing her sand at all she saw. Moving down to street level, she easily sent pedestrians to sleep, stopped traffic to knock out the drivers, and even put animals to bed as she raced through the zoo.

Outside the panther’s enclosure, her husband, Otis, was shaking hands with a pair of vets.

“Oh, my poor husband, so overworked. You need a break too!” Mrs Sandman cried, blowing another handful of dust at the group.

They only had enough time to look her way, Otis calling out, “Marlena?” before the sand took hold and they collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Mrs Sandman cackled and continued on her way.

 

* * *

 

“If thou say so, withdraw and prove it too,” Marinette said, staring directly down at her script. She frowned, and dropped it to her side. “And what does _that_ mean?”

Alya laughed, and, not for the first time that day, reached across for her annotated copy of the play sitting on Marinette’s chaise lounge. “Let’s see… according to this it means ‘If you say so, prove it, let’s have a duel.’ Ooh, sweet, do you think we can have swords?”

Marinette laughed. “Well I don’t know about that, but I feel like a snack. Coming?”

“Good idea,” Alya said, following Marinette down the ladder, “and while we’re downstairs we can ask for some old baguettes to practise our duelling.”

Marinette laughed again as they made their way down to the bakery.

“Hey, don’t mind us, we’re just-” Marinette said, as they reached the bottom of the stairs. She trailed off once she had walked into the shop front.

Her parents were slumped over, apparently unconscious. Tom was at the register, while Sabine appeared to have fallen while putting out a fresh batch of cupcakes, as there were a few scattered around her on the floor.

“Dad!” Marinette said, running to his side and shaking him the best she could.

“Mrs Cheng!” Alya called, trying to get Sabine to stir.

“Papa!" Marinette cried more desperately. With a particularly violent push, Tom rolled over onto his side and let out a snore.

Marinette and Alya both stared at him, then turned to each other wide-eyed. Alya checked Sabine’s breathing.

“She seems to be okay… just… asleep?” Alya said.

“But why would they both just pass out in the middle of the day?” Marinette asked thoughtfully. In an instant, the answer hit both girls.

“Akuma,” they said in unison. With a grin, Alya was racing to the door. Marinette rolled her eyes and followed.

As they stepped outside, someone almost collided with them, running away from the park, but he collapsed and fell asleep just a few yards from them. Marinette and Alya looked across the street to the park and saw Mrs Sandman walking towards them.

“Alya! There you are dear, I’ve been waiting for you,” Mrs Sandman said. She already had a handful of sand in hand, and blew. It was all Alya could to do shove Marinette back through the door of the bakery, and ensure she alone took the hit, crumpling to the ground.

“You’ve been working so hard lately, what with this play, and all your school work, and your blog. You need a nice long nap,” Mrs Sandman went on.

Marinette grimaced as she skidded along the floor of the bakery. Looking back out through the door of the bakery, she sighed with relief as Mrs Sandman carried on past the shop.

“Was that Alya’s mother?” Tikki asked, popping out of Marinette’s bag.

“Looks like it. Wish I could call in Rena Rouge on this one,” Marinette said, frowning at her dozing friend on the pavement. “Tikki, spots on!”

 

* * *

 

Adrien was at home practising his piano playing, when a breaking news bulletin began playing from his television.

“Nadja Chamack, reporting to you live from the streets of Paris,” the persistently present reporter began. The camera panned away from her to show the latest attacking villain. “A new villain going by Mrs Sandman is attacking the city and sending people into a deep sleep, from which nothing seems to be capable of awakening them. It looks like Ladybug is on-”

Nadja was interrupted by Mrs Sandman blowing her sand towards herself and her cameraman, and they both collapsed to the ground. The live signal cut out momentarily after that.

“Oh, is that why you leave the TV on so much? For breaking news?” Plagg asked.

“Of course. I don’t have my own bat-signal so I’ve got to find out about akumas somehow,” Adrien said. He paused and frowned, placing a finger on his chin, deep in thought. “Maybe I should get my own bat-signal…”

“There’s a time and a place, Adrien,” Plagg said.

“Right. Plagg, claws out!”

 

* * *

 

Ladybug swung through the streets to catch up with Mrs Sandman, following the trail of unconscious civilians and cars stopped in the middle of the streets. Ladybug eventually caught up to her targeting tourists around the Eiffel Tower.

_All I have to do is keep her busy and distracted enough that she can’t get any of her sand,_ Ladybug thought to herself, as she and Mrs Sandman parried each others’ blows back and forth. _Just until Cat Noir arrives to help finish the job._

Ladybug cartwheeled backwards to get away from Mrs Sandman, and as she moved to reach into her bag, Ladybug caught the villain’s hand with her yoyo. Mrs Sandman pulled on it, and Ladybug lost her footing, getting pulled through the air. Ladybug managed to right herself, however, and kicked away Mrs Sandman’s hand holding her bag. Ladybug made to grab for the clock necklace, but Mrs Sandman was able to pull herself away.

“Say nighty-night!” Mrs Sandman said, making another move for her sand-bag.

“Okay, nighty-night!” Cat Noir declared, as he vaulted into the scene, his staff sweeping at Mrs Sandman’s legs to knock her off her feet.

Cat Noir retreated back to Ladybug’s side as Mrs Sandman made to recover. “Sorry I’m late, my lady. Would you believe I overslept?” he said, grinning, but before she could retort, he put his game face on. “So have you figured out where the akuma is yet?”

“It’s got to be in that giant clock she’s wearing, why else would she have it?” Ladybug said.

“Okay. I’ll distract her while you work your magic,” Cat Noir said, rushing at the villain before Ladybug could respond. He was able to grapple her whilst she was still gathering her bearings after being knocked down.

“So impatient,” Ladybug sighed, shaking her head and tutting. “Lucky Charm!”

Appearing in the air thanks to her yoyo’s magic, and falling down to her waiting hands was a simple plastic water pistol. Ladybug gave the trigger a quick squeeze, just to check that it was indeed loaded.

Looking around, her eyes quickly found their way to Mrs Sandman, and from there to her bag, then her raised hand, and, finally, Cat Noir’s eyes just a foot away.

“Cat Noir! No! Look out!” Ladybug called, sprinting towards her partner and shoving him out of the way. As a result, Ladybug took the handful of sand directly to the face herself. She collapsed to the ground.

“No! Ladybug!” Cat Noir cried, rushing to her side on his knees.

“Kitty… you… got this,” Ladybug said, between yawns. She pressed her hands together on Cat Noir’s, and fell asleep.

Cat Noir was alone with Mrs Sandman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good plan, the first chapter posted in Ladrien June doesn't actually feature Ladrien... >_<


	20. Miraculous Cat Noir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Ladybug put to sleep by Mrs Sandman, Cat Noir must defeat the villain alone.

In all of his battles fighting alongside Ladybug, Cat Noir had never found himself in this position. He had been knocked out, locked up, brainwashed, and generally found himself taken out of the fight a number of times before. He had never, however, had to deal with Ladybug being taken out of commission.

He scowled up at Mrs Sandman, readying himself to finish a fight solo for the first time. He squeezed Ladybug’s hands for moral support, and realised they were full. In one hand was her yoyo. In the other, the lucky charm she had just had time to call upon before being knocked out - a water pistol.

“Ahahaha, wonderful, Ladybug works so hard to keep Paris safe, she so desperately needed a break,” Mrs Sandman said, walking towards the heroes slowly. She raised her hand. “And now it’s your turn. Goodnight, Cat Noir.”

“I think... you need a wake up call!” Cat Noir said, pointing the water pistol up in Mrs Sandman’s face and squirting her with everything the toy gun held.

The villain coughed and spluttered as she got a blast of water in her eyes, nose, and mouth. She spat and wiped it away, and by the time she could see clearly, both Cat Noir and Ladybug had vanished.

They were in fact hundreds of metres above her, on the Eiffel Tower’s observation deck. Cat Noir had placed Ladybug’s arm around his shoulders, and held her by the waist as his staff extended and lifted them into the air before Mrs Sandman could recover.

The civilians on the tower were clearly frightened, and became all the more nervous when they saw that Ladybug was unconscious.

“I’m gonna take care of everything and fix this, guys, don’t worry,” he said, flashing a winning smile. A few people smiled back at him, and a few others gave a weak smile. “Mrs Sandman isn’t likely to come up here anyway, she didn’t see where I went. You’ll be safe here.”

Cat Noir glanced over the side of the tower, just to make sure Mrs Sandman wasn’t following.

He looked all around. He needed to get out of there and find somewhere safe for Ladybug. He also needed to figure out how he was going to defeat Mrs Sandman single-handed, when it wasn’t really safe for him to even get near to her. All he knew was he had to move.

As he steadied Ladybug against himself and readied his staff, however, he realised he had a problem; there was absolutely no way he would be able to vault across the city whilst carrying her. Plus, doing so would only make it much easier for Mrs Sandman to find them before he was ready.

In his other hand, he held Ladybug’s yoyo. He let it drop once, then called it back up.

“Well, guess there’s a first time for everything. Let’s give it a try,” he said, putting away his staff and switching the yoyo to his dominant hand. He threw it out into the city, and made sure it had found its mark. As he jumped off to swing across the city, he said, “I call this trick walk the cat around the world!”

 

* * *

 

Unable to find sign of Cat Noir - or anyone else still awake - on the ground, Mrs Sandman leapt up to the top of the Eiffel Tower to get a view of the city. Whilst she was there, she ensured the people cowering up there got some rest.

As she surveyed the city, she heard the voice of Hawkmoth in her head once again.

“Excellent work, Mrs Sandman. You've put almost all of Paris to bed. You've even knocked out Ladybug. Without her, Cat Noir should easily fall,” Hawkmoth said. She could see his face, sneering proudly.

“Oh, he'll fall all right. Fall asleep!” Mrs Sandman said, taking a leap from the tower to search at ground level.

 

* * *

 

Cat Noir was crouched, hiding in an alleyway. He'd decided to hide low rather than high, figuring it would be a lot harder for Mrs Sandman to find him down on the streets. That was the only reason, for sure. It had nothing to do with being terrible at using Ladybug's yoyo.

He looked down at his lady in his arms. On the plus side, at least she looked to be sleeping peacefully. Cat Noir smiled, and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. He could feel her steady breath on his cheek through her slightly parted lips.

_ Sleeping beauty _ he said to himself fondly.

A thought occurred to him. When he'd once been under the spell of Dark Cupid, Ladybug had broken him free with a kiss.

_ Yeah, true love’s kiss! _

Perhaps the same could help them now. But, of course, he was trying to be less flirtatious with Ladybug since she'd told him she had a boyfriend, and kissing her would certainly cross that line.

_ What are you thinking, you idiot? You  _ are _ her boyfriend! _

If he'd had his hands free, he'd have smacked his forehead. He was Adrien, he kissed Ladybug all the time. It still didn’t make him feel great, but the world was at stake. He would try to be quick and ensure she didn't see anything. If she did, he would simply tell the truth; that he'd hoped his kiss might wake her as hers once did him.

Cat Noir closed the distance and pressed his lips to Ladybug’s. They were so warm, soft, sweet. So familiar. He couldn't allow himself to linger, however. He pulled back, and smiled at her hopefully, but Ladybug did not stir.

“Okay, worth a shot,” he sighed. He peered out of the alley to the main street. There was no sign of Mrs Sandman. Breathing a sigh of relief, he set off to find a safe place.

On the next street over, he found his father’s limousine. The Gorilla was slumped out of the driver’s door, with Nathalie sleeping on the back seat.

“Of course!” Cat Noir said, dashing away.

 

* * *

 

Mrs Sandman was growing frustrated. She had scoured most of the city and seen no sign of Cat Noir. “I’m getting tired, Cat Noir. Maybe I’ll just leave and you’ll never be able to save the city.”

“Mrs Sandman, quick!” she heard Hawkmoth say suddenly. “They’re at the Agreste mansion!”

Scowling, Mrs Sandman sped off, quickly arriving on the street. Through the mansion’s security gate, she could see the shadows of several people, no doubt hiding from her.

“No need to cower in fear, let Mrs Sandman help you relax!” she called. She kicked down the gate, and threw handfuls of sand at the waiting civilians.

She found, however, that the shadows were cast by no more than crude statues, evidently carved from one of the inner courtyard walls. Behind them stood Cat Noir, one hand glowing with dark energy. In his other hand, he twirled his staff at rapid speeds like a propeller.

“Sweet dreams, Mrs Sandman,” Cat Noir jeered. His staff’s spin created a strong enough wind to blow the sand back into Mrs Sandman’s eyes.

“Nooooo…” she said, drifting off as she fell to the ground face first.

“Yes! I did it, haha!” Cat Noir yelled, jumping up and down. He then looked over at the sleeping villain and, grinning broadly, whispered, “Oops, sorry.”

He casually strode over to Mrs Sandman, removed her clock, and stomped on it. He saw the akuma begin to take flight, while the villain changed back to her normal self.

“Let’s hope this works,” he said, taking the water pistol from his belt. He hurled it into the air, crying out, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The lucky charm burst into pink energy, sweeping through all of Paris. The wall from which Cat Noir carved his statues repaired itself, and across the city people were waking up.

 

* * *

 

Marlena returned home to her bed. She sat up, and blinked several times.

The door creaked open, and two pairs of wide eyes appeared in the gap.

“Maman,” Ella said.

“We had a bad dream,” Etta added.

They pushed the door open and crawled into bed with their mother. She wrapped her arms around them. Looking at her bedside table, Marlena noticed her alarm clock was gone.

“I’m so sorry, girls. I don’t think it was a dream…” Marlena sighed, refusing to deny her actions. “But! You know what we’re going to do? First, we’re going to go watch a movie. Then, we’re going to the park. And finally, we’re getting ice cream!”

The twins cheered, and hugged Marlena. She squeezed them back tightly, all laughing together.

 

* * *

 

Ladybug was also coming to. Cat Noir was by her side, holding out a hand and beaming at her.

“Cat Noir? What happened?” she asked, shaking her head as she got to her feet.

“All in good time, Bugaboo, but first, you have one last job to do,” Cat Noir said, handing Ladybug her yoyo and pointing up to the akuma as it attempted its escape.

Ladybug nodded, and cast her yoyo high. In moments, the butterfly was purified and set free.

 

* * *

 

“Even single-handed, Cat Noir managed to claw his way to victory,” Hawkmoth hissed, shaking his fist as his viewing window closed. “You may have foiled Mrs Sandman’s dream, but one day mine shall come true!”

 

* * *

 

“Wow, using her own weapon against her, great thinking, Kitty. Good job defeating by yourself, she was a tough one,” Ladybug said, as Cat Noir finished explaining the battle.

“You’re telling me. I’m definitely not as creative a thinker as you. Next time let me go back to taking the hits so you can finish them off,” Cat Noir said, winking.

“Hey, give yourself more credit. Okay, how did you use the water pistol?” she asked.

“Oh, uh,” Cat Noir mumbled, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. “I sprayed her in the face right after you went down so I could get us out of there.”

“Huh. I was gonna use it to clump her sand together to take away its power… wait…” Ladybug said, taking in the full meaning of Cat Noir’s words. “You mean to tell me you’ve been carrying me all across Paris? While in the middle of a fight?”

“Of course. Keeping you safe is my number one priority, always.”

He spoke so earnestly, and gave such a sincere smile that Ladybug couldn’t help but blush a little at her partner. That was broken the moment she heard a familiar beep in her ear. Cat Noir’s eyes shot wide open.

“Ladybug, that’s your last spot!” he gasped. Ladybug’s expression mirrored his.

“Bug out!” she cried, taking to the air.

Cat Noir watched her swing off. Then he went pale as he realised she was swinging around to the back of the mansion…

Towards his window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I absolutely hate Gabriel, but Hawkmoth's dialogue is so much fun to write.
> 
> I love that the show focuses on Marinette/Ladybug, but I do wish they'd give us at least an episode that's more about Adrien/Cat Noir, like forcing him to stop the akuma by himself.


	21. What's a Kwami?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the battle, Marinette must hide in Adrien's bathroom. Adrien meets Tikki.

Ladybug was freaking out. It was the latest warning she'd ever had, only realising she was about to transform back with one minute remaining. She supposed being put to sleep had only slowed the timer down, not paused it or stopped it.

With no time to think about where she could hide, it was just lucky that she was where she was.

Adrien’s bedroom window was open wide. Ladybug had to assume it was safe for her to come in. She leapt through, and dashed the length of the room towards the en suite bathroom. She didn't have time to look around and see Adrien, but she could hear him playing piano.

“Adrien I'm so sorry I'll explain in a minute I'm about to transform back!” she called out to him in one breath. She entered the bathroom and slammed the door closed behind her just as her Miraculous beeped and her transformation dropped.

 

* * *

 

Cat Noir had to make sure Ladybug didn’t see him, so he waited a moment before following. Running along the courtyard’s wall. Sure enough, he watched as Ladybug swung around the building and went straight into his still open window. He extended his staff to lift up into the air, arriving at the window in time to see the bathroom door slam shut.

“Plagg, claws in,” he whispered. His suit faded, and Adrien held open his jacket, motioning to Plagg to hide. With an eye roll, Plagg complied.

Adrien walked over quietly, and paused the music on his phone. He knocked on the bathroom door. “L- Ladybug?”

 

* * *

 

As Marinette’s transformation dropped, Tikki floated out of her earrings and Marinette caught her kwami in her hands.

“Whoa… that was a weird one,” Tikki yawned. “It felt like I was sleeping and working extra hard at the same time.”

“I’m so sorry, Tikki. I want to say take as long as you need to rest, but it’s not exactly the most convenient place for it,” Marinette said. She rummaged through her bag to find a snack. “Oh no, I don’t believe this! I don’t have anything for you!”

Her eyes darted around the vast bathroom in the hopes of finding a solution. At that moment, Adrien knocked at the door and called her name. Marinette placed a finger to her lips to silence Tikki.

“Hey, Adrien. I’m so sorry about this. I don’t know how much you heard about the akuma battle today - guess you were safe from it as long as you were here - but by the end of it I was seconds from transforming back and couldn’t think of anywhere else to go,” Marinette sighed. She slumped down to the floor, her back against the door, and leaned her head back.

“So that means you’re not transformed right now? Is there… anything I can do to help?” Adrien said.

Marinette bit her lip. “It's...it's not…” she began, but she stopped herself as Tikki tapped repeatedly on her hand. “Um… could you give me a minute?”

Marinette scrambled further into Adrien’s bathroom, towards his shower. Adrien stepped away from the door, and, with nothing else to do, put his hands in his pocket.

“Well this is a fine mess,” Plagg said, lazily floating through Adrien’s jacket.

“You're a fine mess,” Adrien muttered. “Just go hide in your cheese cupboard.”

“With pleasure!” Plagg said, zipping away.

 

* * *

 

In the back of Adrien’s shower, Ladybug crouched down and beckoned Tikki towards her, wanting to be extra sure. They weren't overheard.

“What is it, Tikki?” Marinette whispered.

“I don't think it's a problem if I go out there, Tikki said, at normal volume. “I don't need to be a secret when you're Ladybug. And you trust Adrien, right?”

“Of course I do,” Marinette said instantly.

“Then that's good enough for me,” Tikki said, flying off towards the door.

“Tikki!” Marinette hissed, but she was already phasing through the door.

Marinette groaned, and leant against the wall. She looked around the room and realised where she was.

Adrien’s shower. Where Adrien showered.

Marinette blushed.

 

* * *

 

Adrien was mildly alarmed for a moment when the hovering red orb phased through his bathroom door, but he quickly pieced together that this must be Ladybug’s kwami. It took him too long, however, to realise that he should probably have a rather stronger reaction than a noise of mild curiosity. He opted to play for being stunned.

“Hello, Adrien. I’m Tikki, Ladybug’s kwami,” Tikki said. She beamed at Adrien, and grabbed one of his fingers with both hands to shake.

“Uh… hi Tikki, nice to meet you,” Adrien said, laughing a little at her formality. “But… what- what’s a kwami?”

“What’s a kwami?  _ What’s a kwami!? _ ” Plagg cried, zooming over with a large wedge of cheese in hand. “Gee, I dunno, Tikki, do you think you could explain to my  _ partner _ , holder of the  _ black cat Miraculous _ what a kwami is!?”

Now Adrien truly was stunned. His jaw fell open. He glanced over at his bathroom door, and grabbed Plagg, carrying him over to the far side of the room.

“Plagg, what do you think you’re doing? Have you forgotten that Ladybug can’t find out I’m Cat Noir? Or has the cheese finally gotten to you?” Adrien hissed.

“It’s ok, Adrien. I already know you’re Cat Noir,” Tikki said, right behind his back. Adrien turned around.

“Oh. You do?”

Tikki nodded. “Remember when you faced Dark Owl and had to transform back in front of each other? That was a bit of a giveaway.”

She laughed, and Adrien soon joined in. He let Plagg go.

“So… what can I do for you?” Adrien asked.

“Do you have anything I could eat? Other than Plagg’s stinky cheese, that is,” Tikki said, poking her tongue out.

“Tsk. Some people have no taste. She likes  _ sweet _ things, if you can believe it, Adrien,” Plagg said. He shook his head and floated back to Adrien’s desk.

“Oh, I have just the thing,” Adrien said. He dashed to his schoolbag and fished out a box, bringing it back over to Tikki. “My friend at school brought in too many the other day and let me keep the rest. Will this do?”

Tikki blinked. She blinked again. Adrien was holding open a half-full box of macarons from Boulangerie Patisserie. Tikki was staring at her favourite snack, straight from Marinette’s parents bakery.

“Yes. This will be fine,” she said, grabbing a macaron and nibbling away.

“So… Tikki… what’s Ladybug like… you know, in her downtime?” Adrien asked. His smile was almost bright enough to fool Tikki into thinking Adrien didn’t realise what he was really asking.

“Adrien, you know I can't tell you about Ladybug's regular life,” she said, smiling kindly. “I can’t tell you anything that could give away her identity.”

“Well… okay, but… at this point, considering we’re  _ dating _ , don’t you think it would be  _ safer _ for us to tell each other our identities?” Adrien asked.

“Do you want to try explaining that to her?” Tikki countered.

Adrien considered the idea for a moment, then pouted. “Okay, fine.”

 

* * *

 

Marinette was bored. She’d expected Tikki to grab a snack and then head straight back. Instead, it sounded like they were having a conversation. They were too muffled for Marinette to make out what they were saying. She certainly wasn’t about to lean against the door and try to eavesdrop. She imagined Adrien just had a lot of questions about what Tikki actually was, and kwamis in general.

While she considered eavesdropping to be too rude, Marinette had decided that Adrien’s cupboards were fair game to explore. It had taken a short while, but boredom and curiosity got the better of her.

They were pretty standard fare. Most of the cupboards contained bathroom supplies; fresh towels and extra bottles of shampoo and shower gel. One was actually a laundry chute. It all felt more like a hotel than a bedroom, especially considering the absurd size of it all. Marinette’s entire bedroom would fit in the bathroom with ease.

It seemed that Adrien used the back of some cupboards as hiding places. Marinette found some particularly stinky cheese in one, and a pair of Ladybug and Cat Noir dolls hidden in another. She laughed to herself at the thought of Adrien playing with them.

 

* * *

 

Adrien was persistent. “I swear though, Tikki, I’m not trying to get you to betray Ladybug’s confidence. I just want to know more about her. Stuff she likes to do, but maybe she’s embarrassed by. Does she have a secret love for anime? We’d have that in common. Maybe she’s a great ballroom dancer? I’d try that for her. Ooh, wait, I’ve got it!” Adrien said, grinning a mischievous, Cat Noir-like grin. “Does she talk about me?”

Plagg perked up and reappeared. “Ooh, now things are getting interesting. Go on, Tikki, tell us  _ all _ about what Ladybug says about Adrien. He talks about her  _ constantly _ !”

Maybe he was imagining it, but Tikki seemed to turn a deeper shade of red. “Well, I should really get back to Ladybug now, I’ve kept her waiting long enough, and she was in the middle of something before the akuma attack…”

Tikki zipped back across the room towards the bathroom. Before she phased through the door, however, Adrien called out to her.

“Please, can you just… tell me one thing? Nothing huge. Just… I just want to be able to share a little more with Ladybug,” he said.

Tikki looked at him, his eyes pleading with her. She saw the love for Ladybug in his eyes, and knew he sincerely meant everything he said.

“Fashion. She likes fashion,” Tikki said, then before Adrien could say another word, she went through the door.

Inside, she found Marinette sat on the floor, holding toys of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

“Oh Ladybug,” Marinette was saying, putting on a voice even deeper than Cat Noir’s. “I saved the day because I love you so much, won’t you love me ba-AH!”

As Marinette realised Tikki had returned, she blushed and threw the toys across the room, landing them in the bathtub. Tikki smiled.

“And what does Ladybug say back?” she giggled.

Marinette frowned. “Very funny. Sorry I got bored waiting for  _ somebody _ to get back, Tikki. Spots on!”

 

* * *

 

The flash of the transformation was bright enough that Adrien could see it through the small gaps in the door, even in broad daylight. He beamed as Ladybug opened the door, even though she seemed somewhat disgruntled.

“So, what did you think of Tikki?” Ladybug asked, instantly brightening at the sight of Adrien. “You two were talking for quite a while.”

“She’s awesome! She told me how you practise kissing pictures of me,” he said with a wink and a chuckle.

“She WHAT? Ooh, that’s it, Tikki,” Ladybug said, staring up at the ceiling and speaking more loudly, as though Tikki were high above her rather than in her earrings. “We’re gonna have a nice long talk when we get home about what y-”

“Um… Ladybug. I was joking,” Adrien said. He seemed almost frightened of her reaction for a moment, but this changed back to a grin as he realised what it actually meant. “Wait. Do you actually practise kissing pictures of me?”

“Oh my gosh,” Ladybug said, hiding her face in her hands. When they dropped back to her sides, however, she appeared fierce. “Wait, you know what, I have nothing to be embarrassed about.  _ You _ have a Ladybug action figure. I bet you practise kissing that!”

Adrien was momentarily stunned. In truth, he pretended his Ladybug figure was making out with the Cat Noir toy, but to say so would put him across in a rather unflattering light. After a moment, however, he found something else to latch onto in what Ladybug said.

“Hey, were you going through my cupboards?” he said, smirking at her.

Now it was Ladybug’s turn to be silenced. Instead of responding, she strode across the room and prepared to leap through the window. “Sorry, I really need to get back to what I was doing before the attack. Talk to you later, Adrien.”

Adrien made sure to stop her and get a kiss before she left.

 

* * *

 

When Marinette made it back to her bedroom, she found her phone waiting for her on her desk, with several missed messages from both Alya and her parents. Sighing, she headed downstairs and explained that she’d hidden upstairs and been put to sleep there, having only just woken up. Alya wasn’t entirely satisfied with the story, but she was pleased to find her friend was okay, and left to check in with her family.

Later that evening, Marinette received an email, from Adrien. Opening it, she found all it contained was a picture; a selfie of Adrien softly puckering his lips. Marinette giggled madly, blushing bright red, and gently kissed her screen.


	22. The Cheese Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel allows Adrien to host a sleepover. Alya and Rose make a bet.

“Wait, what?” Adrien said. His father’s natural stern frown became more of a glare. “I mean… pardon me, sir?”

“I’m sure I made myself perfectly clear, Adrien,” Gabriel said.

He was stood stiffly, arms behind his back, at the opposite end of the long dining room table, at which Adrien was sat eating dinner. Adrien’s reaction wasn’t due to mishearing, despite the distance between the father and son; nor was it because Gabriel had been in any way unclear. Rather, Adrien simply could not believe what his father was saying to him.

“I will be away this upcoming weekend for a conference in Milan,” Gabriel repeated. For a moment, he looked away disgustedly and muttered, “I attempted to arrange my attendance by teleconference, but it seems I am needed in person.”

Adrien nodded. That was the part he’d followed clearly, and he wanted to make sure his father understood that. Adrien knew his father was not fond of even going outside, much less leaving Paris. It was what came next that surprised him.

“I have spoken with Nathalie, who feels that it is important for your development that you be enabled to partake in certain social engagements befitting you at this stage of your youth. I have decided that this theory holds merit, though I would not abide such a situation whilst I am present. As such, this presents the perfect opportunity for you to invite your classmates for the weekend. Nathalie will be with me, but your bodyguard will be on call at all times should you have need of him.”

The monologue was identical the second time; clearly, a memorised passage, most likely prepared for Gabriel by Nathalie. That did nothing to dampen the excitement Adrien felt rising up in himself as he processed his father’s words.

“D- do you mean… I can have a sleepover this weekend?” Adrien asked. His face lit up, and he looked over at Nathalie and the Gorilla to see if their expressions would give anything away. As always when Gabriel spoke to Adrien, however, their faces were impassive.

Gabriel seemed to wince at Adrien’s informality, but he actually allowed the slightest hint of a smile to cross his face. “Yes.”

Adrien leapt up from his chair and ran the length of the room to embrace Gabriel. “Thank you, father!”

As soon as he was upstairs, Adrien set to telling Ladybug the good news. He frowned a little at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to be there, but he was still so excited at the prospect of the sleepover.

 

* * *

 

Marinette was working on homework at her desk when the email came through.

Adrien: Hey, Lovebug. You’ll never guess what? My dad’s letting me have a sleepover this weekend! I get to invite my whole class! Wish you could come, they’d love to get to hang out with you. But it’s so awesome that I get to do this!

Marinette smiled fondly. It made her happy just to know how happy Adrien was about this.

“That’s so great,” Tikki said, reading the email over Marinette’s shoulder. “With how little Adrien gets to go out with friends, it’s so nice that he can have everyone over.”

“Yeah,” Marinette sighed, still smiling, but slumping in her chair a little and resting her chin in her hand. “I just wish I could go…”

For a moment, the inanity of the statement left Tikki unsure what to say. She opted for headbutting Marinette.

“Ow, what-”

“Marinette,  _ you _ are one of Adrien’s classmates! He’s going to invite you over too!” Tikki groaned. “You two seriously need help…”

Marinette rolled her eyes at herself. “Wow, you’re right, Tikki, that was… wait, ‘you two’?”

“Uh… yeah. You  _ and _ Ladybug. Since apparently you’re two different people now!” Tikki said. Her sass seemed to buy her some credibility, as Marinette laughed it off.

“Now I just need to decide what to wear,” Marinette said thoughtfully, pushing her chair back from her desk and placing a finger on her chin.

“What about a flowery white shirt, a black jacket, and a pair of pink jeans,” Tikki said. Marinette frowned.

“Ha ha, Tikki. I meant pyjamas. It's a sleepover, I'll need a pair of pyjamas, Marinette said. She got up to root through her chest.

“What's wrong with what you're wearing now?” Tikki asked.

“You mean the pyjamas the whole of Paris saw me running around with Adrien in? Pass,” Marinette said, and Tikki giggled.

Marinette pulled something black out. “Hm. Now what do we have here…”

 

* * *

 

School the following day consisted of a lot of preparation for the play.  The class had art in the morning, where they were all working on props and scenery. After lunch, with Miss Bustier, they were rehearsing scenes together, all advising and directing each other.

Chloé was uncharacteristically quiet after being shown the donkey’s head she would wear during the middle of the play, and losing her argument against having to do so.

It was as the day was drawing to a close that Adrien addressed the whole class. He, Marinette, Alya, and Nino were at the front of the room, having just performed Marinette and Alya professing their undying love for Nino, while Nino accused Adrien of mocking him, and Adrien pleaded with Marinette to stop pretending, when he knew she loved him so. It was lucky it was supposed to be a funny scene, as most of the class couldn’t hold back from laughing at the farce of it all.

“Oh, hey everyone, before we head off, I’d like to invite you all to sleepover at my house this weekend,” Adrien said brightly. Everyone looked at him, some showing signs of apprehension. “My father’s away for the weekend, and said everyone’s welcome to stay over, the whole weekend if you want to. Oh, but my bodyguard will be around at all times if we need him.” On hearing that Gabriel would not be around, the class's reaction became more positive.

“That sounds lovely, Adrien,” Miss Bustier said, picking up her bag and a stack of paperwork, heading towards the door. “And perhaps you’ll have a chance to rehearse the play a little more! See you all tomorrow everyone, bye!”

The class all bade farewell to their teacher. Once they were sure she was gone, Nino spoke up.

“Okay, this sounds awesome, you know I am totally in. But,” he said, holding up his hand and taking an ironically dramatic pause. “Can we declare the sleepover a Shakespeare-free zone? This is a whole lot of fun and all, but I need a break from iambic pentameter.”

“I’ll say,” Max said, chuckling to himself. “You’re speaking in it now, Nino!”

Nino thought back over what he’d just said, and groaned. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about!”

“Wow, that’s amazing, you did it again,” Myléne said, and everyone was laughing now. “You’re a natural thespian, Nino!”

“Whatever! I’m out. No play this weekend!” Nino cried, storming from the classroom.

The rest of the class made their way out, each one either confirming with Adrien that they’d come that weekend, or saying they’d check plans and let him know.

“Oh, Adri-kins,” Chloé said simperingly, sauntering up to him with Sabrina in tow. “Are you  _ sure _ you wouldn’t rather it just be the two of us this weekend? It’ll be just like old times. You and me, alone together, all weekend,” Chloé said, turning her focus to Marinette as she spoke.

Marinette broiled with rage, but was able to keep it inside by thinking about how much time she got to spend alone with Adrien now, and how furious Chloé would be if she knew her idol had stolen Adrien away from her - though Marinette was confident that Chloé had never stood a chance with Adrien anyway.

“I’ll be happy to get in touch with everyone and l et them know the plan has changed. In fact, why don’t I do that right now,” Chloé continued, pulling out her phone instantly.

Adrien handled it with his typical grace, laughing it off. “Oh, no thanks Chloé, I’m really excited that I get to have all of my friends come over!”

Chloé pouted, but shrugged as she left. “Suit yourself.”

When Alya looked to Marinette expectantly, ready to leave, Marinette nodded towards the door, silently telling Alya to go on ahead. Alya winked, and did just that.

“I’ll definitely be there on Friday, Adrien. To keep Nino in line if nothing else,” Alya said, laughing along with Adrien as she left.

 

* * *

 

A short way along the walkway outside, Alya found Alix, Rose, and Juleka having a conversation. Juleka spotted Alya leaving the classroom. She nudged Rose, who turned around to face Alya with a look of confidence bordering on smugness.

“Well,” Rose said dramatically, taking a wide stance with her hands on her hips. “I guess now we’ll finally know the truth about Adrien and Marinette.”

“What are you talking about?” Alya asked. She approached the group. As much as it annoyed her, Alya couldn't deny her curiosity about Rose’s confidence.

“There’s no way their relationship will remain a secret after this weekend,” Rose explained simply.

Juleka placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder. “It’s a sleepover, Alya. No secrets will survive.”

Alya was impressed enough not to push back. “Wow. I guess all bets are off, huh.”

“Or,” Alix said, a glint in her eye. “What if the bet was  _ on _ ? You guys should make a bet if you’re both so confident. And the loser has to… oh, eat some of that gross cheese Adrien always stinks of!”

“Wait, are we allowed to talk about that now?” Juleka asked. “I thought we all agreed not to mention it?”

“Whatever, we’re going to his house, the Agrestes are gonna have the  _ worst _ cheese in  _ all  _ of France. So, what do you say?” Alix asked eagerly.

“Alix, nobody’s interested in another bet,” Alya said.

“Why not, Alya? Personally I’d be happy to make this bet. Of course, it helps to know I’m right,” Rose said. She smiled sweetly, but fire burned in her eyes.

Alya glared. She held out her hand. “Fine. I bet you that Marinette and Adrien are not dating.”

“And I bet that they’ve been dating for months,” Rose said. She took Alya’s hand.

“And whoever’s wrong eats the cheese!” Alix declared. Alya and Rose shook.

 

* * *

 

Adrien looked around at the mostly empty classroom, and beamed pure sunshine at Marinette. “You can come, right Marinette?”

“Of course, Adrien,” she said, carefully measuring her words. She’d had advance notice to be prepared for this moment, so she was confident in her ability to come through without looking like a fool. “I was just wondering if your… you-know-who… will be able to make it.”

Adrien’s face fell, but only from his wide smile to a more neutral expression. He sighed. “No… it’s still… just not a good idea for too many people to know yet. And even if it weren’t, I don’t think I should push my luck by inviting anyone not from class. Could you imagine my dad finding out I invited my girlfriend to sleep over?”

He chuckled, while Marinette just kept smiling. “Well,” she said, patting his shoulder as she headed for the door, “I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t miss her too much.

Marinette then left quickly to hide the rising heat in her cheeks, feeling thrilled to have managed saying such a thing to Adrien without her mask. In not looking back, she missed that Adrien had a matching flush.

As Marinette left the classroom, she found Alya waiting for her. Alix, Juleka, and Rose appeared to be leaving.

“Hey, were you guys talking? Is there a plan?” Marinette asked.

“No, nothing like that…  _ but _ we do need a plan for this weekend. This is the perfect chance for you to get closer with Adrien. We’re gonna make him fall in love with you, M,” Alya said. She put her arm around Marinette’s shoulders.

“Oh, yeah!” Marinette said, grinning far too broadly.

With his invitation now extended to the class, all Adrien had to do was hope Hawkmoth happened to be busy on the same weekend his father was out of town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sleepover! So many tropes, so much potential for chaos ^_^


	23. Matching Pyjamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class arrives at Adrien's house for the sleepover. Everyone loves Marinette's pyjamas.

At 5:30 on Friday afternoon, Marinette and Alya were preparing to ring Adrien’s doorbell. Marinette simply needed to get pumped up enough.

“What is this, girl, you’ve been so much better with him lately. Don’t fall apart on me now!” Alya said, laughing as she shook her head.

“I’m not falling apart!” Marinette said, pouting. “You told me to have a plan. It’s called being  _ fashionably late _ .”

Alya clutched her sides. “When have you ever been on time for anything? Don’t talk to me about fashionably late, Marinette, you’re just late!”

Marinette’s expression was utterly deadpan as she pushed the buzzer. Her face changed entirely as the security camera buzzed to life.

“Oh, um, hi, we’re here for the sleepover?” Marinette said, beaming up at the camera. For a moment, there was no response.

“Who dares disturb my slumber!?” replied a falsely deep voice, followed by cackling laughter.

“Cut it out, Nino, you jerk,” Alya said playfully. The camera retracted and the gate opened.

Once they reached the top of the steps, Adrien was waiting for them with the door held wide open.

“Hi Adrien! Sorry we’re a little late,” Marinette said, smooth as anything, strolling past Adrien into the atrium. Alya followed behind, smiling proudly at Marinette.

“Oh, well, actually, apart from Nino who came back from school with me, you guys are the first ones here,” Adrien said.

Marinette froze on the spot, and began stammering out a response along the lines of “that’s nice”, but a few dozen words longer. Alya shook her head.

“Hey girls, what’s up?” Nino called, appearing at the top of the stairs. He jumped up onto the bannister and slid the whole way down. “Oh, no, no, no. This will not do. How are  _ none _ of you wearing pyjamas?”

Nino had already changed into green checked flannel pyjamas. He was barefoot, but he had kept his cap on.

“We just got here, doofus, we weren’t going to walk here in pyjamas,” Alya said.

“Well that’s all well and good, but is this, or is this not, a pyjama party?” Nino asked. He spread his arms wide to emphasize his point.

“I believe I said it was a sleepover, Nino,” Adrien said snarkily. Nino gave him a deadpan frown.

“Yeah, well, as long as I’m in charge, there will be  _ very _ little sleep happening this weekend!” he said.

“You are not in charge of anything,” Alya shot back.

“Just go and get changed, would you?”

“Hold on, let’s take your bags upstairs first… Uh… Marinette, you’re not planning on moving in, are you?” Adrien said, grinning at the size of the bag she was carrying.

“Oh, my parents gave me some snacks to bring from the bakery,” she said, smiling at Adrien. She then looked to the side and muttered, “Probably too much, really… but they just kept giving me more and more to bring!”

Adrien’s face lit up. “Awesome! Your parents baking is the best in all of Paris! That bag must be pretty heavy then, and you’ve carried it all the way here. Let me help you.”

Adrien took the handle from one end of Marinette’s holdall and they carried it up together, beaming at each other. Alya smiled warmly up at them, then thought for a moment.

“Ninoooooooo,” she called coyly. “My bag’s kinda heavy too…”

“Why? What did you pack in there?” Nino asked, frowning as he glanced Alya’s shoulder at her rucksack. He turned and ran up the stairs. “Yo, Marinette, what kind of croissants are we talking? Do we have almonds?”

Alya scowled and followed.

 

* * *

 

When Alya entered Adrien’s bedroom after the rest of the group, she whistled. “Dang, Adrien, this bedroom is insane! My whole flat could fit in here!”

“Right? Being rich is ridiculous,” Nino said, as he managed to tear his eyes away from Marinette’s bag to look around.

After a moment, Marinette realised that she had also most certainly never seen Adrien’s bedroom before. “Oh, yeah, wow! You’ve got everything in here! A basketball hoop, a climbing wall, a full bathroom…”

“Whoa, nice, an en suite? Where?” Alya asked, scanning the room for doorways. Marinette flinched.

“If you’d like, I can give you a tour of the whole house once everyone’s here. We just have to be careful not to get lost,” Adrien said, grinning as his friends all laughed. “But for now I think we’re gonna get in trouble if I don’t show you where you two can get changed.”

Marinette took a smaller bag out of her holdall. She also handed Nino a platter of croissants.

“Nice! I’ll go keep watch for everyone else while you’re at it,” he said, leaving with a mini croissant in each hand.

Adrien led Marinette and Alya a short way down the hall, and let them in to a much smaller guest room. He then entered a door on the opposite side of the hallway to get changed himself.

“So, how’s fashionably late working out for you?” Alya called across the room.

“Yeah, yeah. I can adapt. Now we’re the first ones here, we can help play the part of the host and welcome everyone,” Marinette said.

“Except I think that’s Nino letting quite a few people in now,” Alya said, listening out as several voices started talking in the entrance hall down below.

Marinette sighed. “Fine, then if I can’t be fashionably late, then I’ll just be fashionable.”

She pulled up her zip, and turned around to show Alya. Alya finished adjusting her shirt and shorts, and turned to face Marinette. Alya’s face lit up.

“Girl, that is so awesome! Since when did you have  _ that _ !?” Alya asked.

“Ah, well, I didn't. I made it this week. I had some leftover fabric just sitting around, so I decided to do something...different,” Marinette said, with just a small smile.

“Wish you’d told me though, we totally could have been matching,” Alya said, half-pouting.

Marinette raised her eyebrow. “I don’t think that would have worked very well with the whole, “Get me together with Adrien” plan if you and I were wearing matching pyjamas, do you?”

For a moment, Alya looked as though she was about to say something, but thought better of it. “Fair point. Well let’s get out there and show this off to everyone!”

They left the room, and followed their friends’ voices back to Adrien’s room. Nino was showing Kim, Max, Ivan, Myléne, Alix, and Nathaniel where to leave their bags - for the time being, in a heap behind Adrien’s sofa.

“Hey guys!” Alya said as they entered. The group looked round as Alya and Marinette approached.

“Marinette! You look adorable!” Alix cooed.

“Yeah, you make a great Cat Noir,” Nathaniel said.

Marinette was wearing a black onesie,  complete with a golden ball on the zip, and a hood with cat ears on top. Her feet and hands remained uncovered.

“Thanks guys,” Marinette said, beaming. “That’s not the best part though, look,” she said. She put her hand into a pocket on her hip, and kept pushing until almost her whole forearm was in the pocket.

The boys were fairly unimpressed, just giving a little chuckle. Myléne, on the other hand, was starry-eyed. “Wow! That’s awesome, where did you get it? Your pyjamas have better pockets than my regular clothes.”

“She made it herself! My girl is way talented,” Alya said. “And that’ll be your in to the fashion world one day, Marinette.  _ Pockets...for women _ !”

Myléne and Alix cheered.

“Hey guys,” Juleka said, appearing in the doorway. “What’s go- whoa. Rose, you have to see this.”

Rose followed right behind Juleka, and squealed. “Oh my gosh! This is  _ too cute _ !”

Rose stepped aside to allow Adrien to pass. Most of the group gaped and grinned. Marinette suddenly felt extra self-conscious about the absurd angle she’d bent herself into in order to plunge her arm into her pocket. She straightened up.

That did little to fight off the blush she felt rising on her cheeks at the sight of Adrien in pyjamas. He was wearing what she now knew to be one of at least two sets of Ladybug pyjamas that he owned. Unlike those he’d worn on Ladybug’s first visit to his room, however, Adrien, like Marinette, was wearing a onesie. It was simpler in concept than hers, but clearly shop-bought rather than homemade. While Marinette’s onesie was clearly brand new, the colours on Adrien’s were somewhat dull and faded, and the almost two inches of ankle he was showing off made it clear that Adrien had been through a growth spurt since he’d bought it.

Marinette knew she should probably feel some embarrassment over the implications of wearing matching outfits with Adrien. She hadn’t especially thought about it when she chose to make her pyjamas inspired by her partner; she just thought it would be fun, and that Cat Noir deserved more appreciation than he sometimes got. As it was, however, she was more embarrassed by the fact that her boyfriend had multiple sets of pyjamas inspired by herself; that Adrien was choosing to wear a onesie based on his  _ secret _ girlfriend.

Adrien, too, was stunned, though he was beaming broadly at Marinette. He felt touched that Marinette would choose to dress up like him, and even more so as he took on board the fact that she had clearly made it herself. It took him a moment longer to process the fact that he and Marinette now appeared to be wearing matching costumes. The idea that they’d have planned to do such a thing together actually made him feel quite pleased.

“Wow, Marinette, you made a Cat Noir onesie? That’s so cool!” Adrien exclaimed. Now it was Marinette’s turn to feel moved by Adrien recognising her craftsmanship.

“Hold up, so this is just one big coincidence? That Marinette made a Cat Noir onesie from scratch and Adrien happens to be wearing a Ladybug onesie that he’s clearly outgrown?” Alya asked. Both Marinette and Adrien blushed a little, but smiled and shrugged.

For some reason neither could understand, Alya stuck her tongue out at a scowling Rose. As she did so, Alya swiftly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of Adrien and Marinette standing close together and smiling.

“Hey, a little warning would be nice next time,” Marinette said, frowning.

“You’d better get used to it,” Alya said, looking at the picture on her phone, while Ivan and Myléne leaned in to see it over her shoulder. “There’s gonna be a lot of pictures taken this weekend!”

“Well, it seems appropriate that we should all go and get changed,” Max said.

“Yeah, let’s get this party started!” said Kim, pumping his fist in the air, and earning a “Woo!” from the group.

“And when you get back, I hope you guys like  _ pizza _ , because takeaway is on its way!” Adrien cried out as he led most of the group out to change elsewhere. The train of classmates cheered once again.

Marinette, Alya, and Nino were left alone in Adrien’s room, but they didn’t have to wait for long; after a few moments, a ring came from the front gate.

“Aw, sweet, that’s probably the pizza!” Nino said, as he put a macaron into his mouth whole. “How about you guys go down to the front and collect it? Adrien showed me how to work the front gate.”

The girls nodded, and Nino ran off to open the front gate. Marinette and Alya headed down to the atrium, and opened the front door.

“Sorry I’m so late, Adri-kins, but you know how it is. Now that  _ I’m _ here, the party can  _ really _ get started!”

With Sabrina stood behind her holding two especially large bags, Chloé Bourgeois was waiting on the doorstep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how about Troublemaker, huh? As should probably be evident, this story will not be acknowledging Troublemaker seeing as they cover a fair amount of the same ground XD
> 
> I know many have done the idea of Marinette and Adrien wearing pyjamas of each other before, but it's just too cute not to do it here.


	24. Never Say Pizza Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's bewildering pizza order arrives. The group play a secret-sharing game.

Chloé’s face fell, disgust overtaking her, as she realised who had answered the door. He eyes roamed down, however, and she scoffed.

“Wow, Sabrina, get a load of Paris’s  _ second _ favourite superhero,” she said. Sabrina giggled. “Are you actually serious with this get up, Marinette? Look at that thing, it’s clearly homemade. Why would you even do that? I guess you couldn’t find it in a store, who’d want anything like that? And a onesie? You look like a toddler… only without the cuteness factor.”

Chloé was talking so quickly it was impossible to interrupt her, especially with Sabrina almost collapsing with laughter at her side. Eventually, however, it became too much and Alya bubbled over.

“Okay, you know what Chloé, everyone  _ else _ at this party is friends, so-”

“So let’s all just have a good time together, right?” Adrien said. Unnoticed by Chloé mid-rant, or the other girls focused on Chloé, he was coming down the stairs towards the group.

“There you are!” Chloé squealed, wrapping her arms around Adrien. He swiftly backed away, and Chloé let him do so as she realised what he was wearing. “Adrien… you… you’re Ladybug! Oh, I love it, isn’t she just the best?”

Alya made a retching noise at Chloé’s total reversal, but the gag failed to shift Marinette’s miserable frown. Adrien seemed not to notice, however, still beaming at the new arrivals.

“Well you two are the last ones here, shall we go upstairs?” Adrien asked.

He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he turned on the spot, and stuck his arms out wide. He began to waddle forwards, swinging his whole leg with each step instead of bending his knees. All four girls stared at him.

“Um, Adrien?” Sabrina said, the first one brave enough to question his bizarre behaviour. “What are you doing?”

Adrien swivelled on the spot. He kept his smile, and his voice remained upbeat, but Marinette saw a rare, somehow familiar fierceness in his eyes. “Well, Chloé said Marinette looks like a toddler because she’s wearing a onesie, so I must do too. And if we’re toddlers, then, well, we toddle. Right Marinette?”

When Adrien turned his eyes to her, they had softened. The fire directed at Chloé became warmth, and his smile somehow spread further up his cheeks. With frantic, encouraging nods from Alya, Marinette returned that smile and nodded herself. She mimicked Adrien’s movements, sticking her arms out and swinging her legs from side-to-side until she caught up with Adrien.

Once they reached the foot of the stairs, Adrien fell forward and placed his hands on the step. Marinette laughed and did the same, and they crawled up the stairs. At the top. they helped each other back to their feet, and Adrien called down for the others to join them.

“Well,” Alya said, smug confidence on full display. “Looks like that one backfired. Give it up, Chloé, Adrien is never gonna go for you. He’s sweet, and kind, and that’s what he values in others.”

“We'll see about that, Césaire,” Chloe said, stepping towards the stairs. She turned back to Alya, scowling. “I mean - I… I  _ am _ … oh whatever!”

She stormed upstairs with Sabrina scurrying behind her. Alya grinned, and was about to follow, when the door rang again.

The sight coming onto the driveway made Alya furrow her brow.

“Hey, Adrien!” she called across the cavernous hall. “Why are there  _ two  _ separate delivery cars?

 

* * *

 

With help from Nino, Marinette, Kim, and Ivan, the stacks of pizzas eventually made their way upstairs. The rest of the party were blown away.

“H- How many pizzas even is that?” Ivan asked.

Alya deposited the last pile on top of one of the towers and sighed. “Thirty.”

“Why would you order thirty pizzas, Adrien?” Juleka asked. All eyes turned to their rather anxious host.

“Well… I don’t get to order pizza when my dad’s here. I wasn’t sure what people would like, or how much. I wanted to make sure there was enough to go around… and that everyone would have their choice… So I got… a variety…” he explained. 

“And that means… tuna…  _ and pineapple _ !?” Alix asked, flipping open the lid of the nearest pizza.

“Ooh! That sounds delicious!” Rose said. Alix frowned and passed the box to her.

Adrien’s sofa was turned around to face the open space. Chloé, Sabrina, Max, Nathaniel, and Nino ended up on the sofa, with Alya sitting on the floor in front of Nino to lean on his legs. Kim perched on one of the closer of the skateboarding ramps that flanked the bedroom door, and Ivan and Myléne sat on the end of Adrien’s bed. The others filled in the space between to form a circle.

Boxes were passed around to have the contents examined, some getting pushed away, others divided up. Chloé, however, declined everything that was offered to her.

“Seriously?” Nino asked, as Chloé shook her head at his latest offering. “Not even just a regular margherita?”

“I wouldn’t dare eat anything so greasy and disgusting,” she said, wrinkling her nose and turning away from the circle.

“At the very least, Chloé could never risk damaging her complexion with acne; eating all the grease in that pizza would be devastating!” Sabrina cried. She was, however, holding a big slice of pepperoni herself.

“That’s definitely a myth…” Max said quietly to Nathaniel, turning away from Sabrina on his other side. Nathaniel rolled his eyes, smirking.

“Aw, come on, Chloé, that wasn’t always true,” Adrien said, who by contrast was on his eleventh slice and showed no signs of stopping. He seemed to be on a mission to try a slice from every pizza. “You used to love pizza. I remember one time we were out and you dropped your last slice and got so upset your dad bought you three more! My dad was sure you wouldn’t even be hungry anymore once the new ones came out, but you still ate almost two of them!”

Everyone laughed. Even Sabrina couldn’t hold back a quiet titter. Chloé pouted, but looked across at Adrien. Instead of sulking, she sneered.

“Okay Adrien, if that’s how you want to play - sharing secrets - then I’ve got a game we can play. It’s called Never Have I Ever,” she said. There was some interested murmurs around the circle, with most indicating they didn’t know the game.

“Wait,” said Juleka. “Isn’t that a drinking game?”

All eyes were on Chloé. She had been prepared to say that yes, of course it was, but she could tell from the looks of concern and irritation from some that this wasn’t the answer her classmates wanted.

“It can be. But it doesn’t have to be. But I know the best solution. Sabrina, get the sauce from my bag,” Chloe said.

As Sabrina got up and moved towards the bags, the rest of the class looked round the circle to see if anyone else understood what Chloe meant. After a few moments, Sabrina reappeared with a bright red bottle.

“Ghost pepper sauce. One of the spiciest peppers in the world.  _ This _ can be the penalty!” Choé said, holding the bottle like it was either a valuable trophy, or a deadly weapon.

“Why do you have ghost pepper sauce in your bag?” Nathaniel asked.

“Let’s just say you’d rather we use it for this,” Chloé said, giving him a smug grin.

“Okay, but… how do you play?” Marinette asked.

“It’s so simple even you could understand it, Marinette,” Chloé said, earning herself a number of dirty looks. She either disregarded them or failed to notice, as she carried on without a pause. “Everyone takes it in turns to say something, starting with “Never have I ever…”. Then everyone who has faces the penalty.”

She shook the bottle in her hand to emphasize this last point. She grinned wickedly at Adrien, who gulped. “I’ll go first. Never have I ever… run around naked in the Champ de Mars!”

“Oh, come on, I was like 4…” Adrien sighed. Everyone laughed, while Chloé shook her head.

“Doesn’t matter. That’s the game, Adri-kins. Now suck it up, Agreste!” she said, throwing the bottle across the circle to him.

“H-how much?” Adrien asked, eyeing the bottle apprehensively. It was plastic, with a thin nib to delicately squeeze out the precise amount of sauce needed.

“Just give it a good squirt!” Kim cheered.

Everyone waited with baited breath as Adrien unscrewed the cap, brought the bottle up to his mouth, and squirted a stream of sauce directly onto his tongue. He swallowed quickly.

“Huh. You know, that wasn’t too- oh no. No, here it cometh! Water! Thomebody get me thome water!” he cried, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Marinette leapt up and raced into Adrien’s bathroom. From her previous rummaging in the room as Ladybug, she knew where she could find a cup to quickly fill with tap water. She raced back to Adrien’s side in seconds, ignoring the looks of shock from their friends. Adrien guzzled down the water in moments. Marinette turned away from Adrien to glare at the source of his pain.

“Okay, Chloé, I think that’s enough of that. Why don’t we just put that away, and-” she said, but she faltered as behind her Adrien laughed.

“That was crazy! It’s okay Marinette. I think we’ll be fine as long as everyone has some water ready on hand,” he said. When Marinette remained concerned and unconvinced, Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder.

Rose caught Alya’s eye across the circle, smiling pointedly. Alya pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek.

After ensuring that everyone had a drink of either water or, on Myléne’s suggestion, milk, the game began to move around the circle from Sabrina. The first few questions were rather tame. Max revealed that Kim, Juleka, Adrien, and Marinette all loved musicals. Nino got Alya, Adrien, and Chloé for how much time they spent on the ladyblog.

When Alya’s turn came, she knew she needed to use this as an opportunity. She had to trust that people would play fair and be honest. The first job was to test that theory.

She looked across the circle to meet Rose’s eyes and said, “Never have I ever... had a crush on anyone in this circle.”

A collective “Oooh!” rose up from the group. Out of the corner of her eye, Alya could see Marinette glaring daggers at her, but Alya had to ignore her. She kept her eyes on Rose instead, who blushed.

“Uhh… is there something we should talk about, Alya?” Nino asked, chuckling nervously.

“Nope,” Alya said, grabbing the bottle of sauce and taking the first shot herself. She passed the bottle up to Nino, who shrugged and followed suit.

The bottle made its way around the circle, with almost the entire class taking a swig. It passed over Max and Alix, but that was it. For varying reasons, half of the circle tensed up as Adrien took the bottle from Kim, and a few had to keep from squealing as he immediately had some sauce. After seeing that, and Adrien’s smile as he passed her the bottle, Marinette had no issue with taking some herself. Alya was satisfied that Marinette would answer honestly, and had now planted the seeds for the rest of the game.

“Wait, so is that all you were complaining about?” Myléne asked.

“Yeah,” Ivan chuckled. “That was just like… tangy ketchup.”

“Wish I could let you know, but I still haven’t even tasted it,” Alix said, grinning like a cheshire cat. “You’ve seriously all crushed on each other?”

“You never know. Maybe someone here’s had a crush on you,” Rose said, winking. Alix pretended to gag.

“I’ll give you a chance to try it, Alix,” Marinette said, with a glint in her eye that put fear in everyone. “Never have I ever… been akumatised!”

Marinette thrust the bottle into Alya’s chest with a malicious smirk, while most of her classmates groaned. The bottle made its way back around the circle, with everyone drinking until it reached its way back to Adrien, who set it down.

“Wait, so neither of you have ever been akumatised?” Nathaniel asked. They each shook their heads.

“Do you just never get… upset, or angry?” Sabrina asked, to which Marinette and Adrien both shrugged.

“That’s not it,” Juleka said, with a confident, sincere tone. “Clearly they’re secretly Ladybug and Cat Noir.”

Marinette and Adrien both completely froze. They were ready to launch into counterclaims, and explaining how absurd such an idea would be. Fortunately for them,  Nino beat them to the punch.

"Secret? What secret? Look at them! They're in costume right now, Marinette is Cat Noir and Adrien is Ladybug!"

Juleka rolled her eyes. "Well thanks for explaining the joke, Nino."  The group still laughed, however.

“Yeah, good one, Juleka,” Adrien said, shaking his head. “You saw us when we tried to make that music video. Me as a superhero… it would be a _cat_ astrophe!”

Most of the circle groaned and booed, and a few pizza crusts were thrown Adrien’s way. Marinette, however, snorted with laughter. When Adrien looked her way, she blushed a little, but smiled back anyway.

“Yeah, can't be them. Cat Noir makes the puns, and Ladybug hates them,” Alya said.

 

* * *

 

The game made its way round to Rose. She gulped before talking, but stared across at Alya just as Alya had done to her earlier. “Never have I ever… dated anyone in this circle!”

Rose took a swig of the sauce as quickly as she could before handing the bottle to Juleka. Juleka’s face was crimson, but she drank some sauce as well. The bottle made its way around once again. Ivan and Myléne drank too, of course. As the bottle made its way around, however, Kim tried asking Rose and Juleka about who they had dated, looking around at the boys in the circle. Most of the group rolled their eyes, and everyone ignored Kim's questions.

When the bottle reached Adrien, he didn’t hesitate before passing the bottle on to Marinette. Alya grinned broadly across the circle at Rose, who pouted. She kept watching, however.

Marinette did take pause when Adrien handed her the bottle. She looked away, but her eyes kept flitting back to the boy sitting beside her. Her secret boyfriend. So secret that even he didn’t realise. Marinette hated lying when she had no need to do so. She didn’t need to do any more than drink the sauce…

Marinette drank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta appreciate my timing on this, ending off Ladrien June with an arc in which Marinette is not transformed at all ¬_¬


	25. Kiss and Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya wants to know why Marinette claimed she has dated someone in their class. Adrien is not especially keen on the next choice of game.

Rose and Alya’s eyes met across the circle, both wide. Neither knew what to make of Marinette confirming she had dated someone in the circle before, while Adrien denied it.

Adrien was also regarding Marinette with curiosity, but certainly wasn’t about to call her out on it in front of everyone. She kept his secrets for him, so he would most certainly do the same for her.

As far as Alya could tell, nobody besides herself and Rose had even noticed anything odd. She supposed that the rest of the party was not quite as personally invested in Marinette’s love life as she and Rose were.

As Marinette passed the hot sauce on to Alya, Alya said, “Hey, Marinette, can I talk to you outside real quick?” She took a swig of the hot sauce and passed the bottle on to Nino. Without stopping for a drink, she stood, taking Marinette’s hand and leading her out of Adrien’s bedroom.

“Okay, what was that all about!?” she hissed. While they had the door closed, Alya wasn’t about to try to get Marinette into any trouble.

Marinette was clearly avoiding looking at Alya as she replied, “What was what?”

“You drank! To say you’ve dated someone in that room!”

“Oh! Right. That. Well, you know…”

Alya folded her arms and glared.

“Well, there was that time Nathaniel was akumatised,” Marinette said, looking up as she did.

“Nuh uh, that does not count. Try again.”

“Oh, and that time with Nino at the zoo…”

“You didn’t even think that was a date then, you were just waiting for Adrien and trying to set Nino up with me!”

“And it worked!” Marinette said. She held her hand up for a high five. Alya begrudgingly returned it.

“Neither of those are reasons you would have drank that sauce, Marinette,” Alya said. She frowned as her expression softened. “Look, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me everything. You’re allowed secrets. I guess I’m just confused as to why. But you’re my best friend, not a lead, so I’ll just wait until you’re ready to tell me.”

Marinette beamed, and threw her arms around Alya’s neck. “Thanks Alya, you’re the best. I wish I could explain, but it’s… complicated. I promise I will as soon as I can.”

They separated from the hug, but Marinette kept one arm around Alya’s shoulders as they headed back into the room. Their friends were still sitting in a circle, though those on furniture had now all moved to the floor.

“Hey, they’re back!” Myléne said.

“Good, now we can finally get started,” Chloé said. She was on her phone, clearly trying to distance herself from the group, but her eyes kept flitting around at everyone.

“Get started? With what?” Marinette asked.

“You finished off the hot sauce before handing it to me, so we figured Never Have I Ever was over,” Nino explained. “Then Nathaniel mentioned he’d never kissed anyone before, so Kim suggested we shake things up with-”

“Spin the bottle!” Kim declared, clearly eager to play.

Looking around the room, the girls saw a mix of expressions. Some of their friends looked as keen as Kim sounded. Others seemed more nervous and perhaps a little giggly, but not upset. A few seemed unfazed. 

Marinette would not let herself look at Adrien. Despite the fact that, as Ladybug, she got to kiss him all the time, she was still worried about simultaneously blushing and grinning profusely at him in such a way as to give away her feelings for him, as she hadn’t gotten to kiss him since the day before. If she had looked at him, however, she would have seen that he looked a little uneasy.

“Who’s up first?” Alya asked, as they settled back into position, Alya now leaning against Nino.

“Nathaniel’s never kissed anyone, so he’s-” Ivan explained, though he stopped and blushed a little when Myléne hit him on the arm.

Nathaniel looked a little uncomfortable as he leaned in to the middle of the circle and twisted the empty bottle of hot sauce. When it came to rest, the tip was pointing towards Sabrina. They looked at each other, both clearly somewhat uncomfortable.

“Okay, so the first time two people get paired up, it’s just a hug,” Kim explained. “Sort of like a warm-up round for the real thing.”

At that, Nathaniel and Sabrina both relaxed a great deal. They leaned around Max and embraced, smiling comfortably as they pulled back.

The game went on nice and calmly, everyone crawling around from the bottle in the centre towards each other to embrace. Ivan crushed most people in a tight bear hug, while Nino and Kim thumped each other hard on the back.

Chloé played along nicely enough when Rose wrapped her arms around her, but she was less than thrilled with where the bottle landed after she spun it. When Marinette saw the bottle slowing down, she leaned towards Alya.

“It's on Adrien!” both Chloé and Marinette said together. It was the first time in a long time that they had agreed on anything. Neither would look at the other, however, instead staring in horror at the bottle.

“No way, not a chance,” Adrien said, looking at Marinette with a twinkle in his eye and the shadow of a smile on his lips. “It's definitely pointing at Marinette.”

Marinette scowled at him as she realised he was just trying to get out of the hug himself, and their classmates laughed. Resigned to her fate, Marinette stood and walked across the circle. Chloé did not move from her seat, and she also did not move once Marinette was stood in front of her. Gradually, they each lifted their arms. They flung their arms around each other with haste, pulling back just as quickly.

Marinette bent down and spun the bottle as she walked back to her spot in the circle. Once she was sat back down, she found Adrien looking at her expectantly.

“ _ Now  _ it's pointing at me,” he said.

In actuality it was once again on the precipice, and could just as easily have been pointing at Kim as at Adrien. Before Marinette could point this out, however (not that she would have wanted to), Adrien had embraced her. It was a comfortable, simple hug that Marinette immediately melted into, squeezing him back just as he did her.

When the hug lingered merely a few moments longer than most, Alix called out, “Get a room!”

“We’re in my bedroom right now. You all go get another room,” Adrien said, breaking the hug. He raised his eyebrows at Alix triumphantly as the class laughed and cheered at his retort.

After a few dozen more spins, Alya landed the bottle on Max for the first repeat pair. Everyone looked to Kim to confirm what this meant.

“Now it’s for real,” Kim said, grinning and winking at his best friend. “Kiss on the lips. No tongue though. That’s for the third spin!”

“R-Really?” Max asked, visibly gulping. “There’s no other step first, like a cheek kiss or something?”

“Don’t worry, Max. I won’t bite,” Alya said, as she moved into the circle to pass Nino and Nathaniel.

“Yeah, biting’s not until the fifth spin,” Juleka said, earning a laugh around the circle.

Alya knelt in front of Max, and both closed their eyes. Their lips only touched for a second before Max pulled back.

“There, not too bad, right? Now, if you want to avoid more kissing, just don’t land it on Ivan, since you already hugged him,” Kim said.

The next pair to be put in a position to kiss was Ivan and Myléne. They giggled, and kissed comfortably and easily. They lingered for a lot longer than Max had been willing to. Eventually, Nathaniel found himself paired up for a second time with Alix.

“Hope this is what you were looking for, my dude,” Alix said, standing and striding across the circle. Nathaniel rose to meet her, and she immediately put her hands on his face and pulled his lips to hers. They stayed together for several seconds, and when she released him, both were a little pink in the face.

“How was it, Nathaniel?” Marinette asked.

“N-Not bad,” he said quietly. He looked down, hiding his smile.

Kim was a little nervous when Rose and Juleka paired up a second time. “Do you guys mind having to kiss another girl?” Most of the circle rolled their eyes.

“We’ll be fine, Kim,” Rose said impatiently. She turned to Juleka and they kissed, neither too long nor too short to be suspicious.

Eventually, despite trying to argue to delay the inevitable, Adrien found the bottle pointing in his direction. The spinner had already landed it on him once before. And, naturally, the bottle had been spun by Chloé.

Adrien’s life flashed before his eyes as Chloé stood and crossed the circle at a slow saunter. She wanted to savour the moment, so she took her time and said nothing, opting instead to merely smirk at Marinette, who returned a scowl. Turning her attention to Adrien, Chloé puckered her lips, extending her mouth forwards grotesquely and absurdly.

With Chloé stood before him and expecting him to kiss her, however, Adrien panicked. He rose to his feet, but instead of moving towards Chloé, he ran from the room. There was a moment’s pause as everyone processed what had just happened.

“I’ll go after him,” Marinette said, following Adrien out of the room.

 

* * *

 

It didn't take long for Marinette to catch up with Adrien. He had taken refuge sitting at the bottom of the stairs in the atrium.

“Hey, Adrien,” Marinette said slowly, as she sat down next to him. At the sound of her voice, Adrien looked round and tried valiantly to smile. “It's okay, I'd have the same reaction if Chloé tried to kiss me.

Adrien chuckled, causing Marinette to smile. Of course, she wanted to be sure Adrien was all right after his emergency evacuation, and to help in any way she could. At the same time, she couldn't help but be delighted that that was Adrien’s response to the prospect of kissing Chloé.

“It’s not that. Well, it’s not _ just  _ that. It’s...” he said. He paused, looking around to ensure they were alone. “It’s… well, I don’t want to go around kissing anyone except my girlfriend. It’s not right, especially when she’s not even here. But I don’t want to ruin everyone else’s fun, if they’re okay with doing it…”

Marinette’s heart swelled. She wanted to wrap herself around Adrien and kiss him all over. But, as far as he was concerned, he’d just explicitly told her he wanted  _ not that _ . She took a moment to ground herself, and put herself in the right mindset: his friend who agreed to help him keep his relationship a secret.

It was just so hard to stop thinking of herself as his girlfriend, even without being transformed.

“Wait, that’s it!” she said out loud suddenly. Adrien looked at her in alarm. She held out a hand. “Okay, just… follow my lead in there, okay? Do you trust me?”

For both Adrien and Marinette, it was an all too familiar situation. Marinette realised the second she’d finished talking what she had just done, but she worked hard not to let her realisation show on her face.

To Adrien it felt like déjà vu. Of course, there was no way for Marinette to know that Ladybug had said much the same thing not all that long ago. It was a different kind of trust, in fact. With Ladybug he was trusting her to hold him, trusting in her strength and knowing she would support him. Now, he had no idea what Marinette was planning. He had to trust that whatever she was doing was the best she could to help him.

For a split second, he was unsure. Marinette had confessed to Cat Noir she had feelings for Adrien. Perhaps whatever she was planning in that moment was an effort to sabotage his relationship, in the hopes of winning him herself? Except that the second the thought flitted unbidden through his mind, Adrien hated himself for even considering it. Both from what she had told Cat Noir, and how she cared for him in daily life, Adrien knew Marinette truly wanted both what was best for Adrien, and for him to be happy.

Adrien smiled and took Marinette’s hand, letting her pull him to his feet. “Of course I do...”

He bit back adding on “Prince Ali.”

 

* * *

 

Everyone looked round as Marinette lead Adrien back into the room. Most faces looked at Adrien full of concern. A few were instead focused on their held hands.

“Hey, Adrien, is everything okay?” Nino asked.

“You don’t have to kiss Chloé if you don’t want to, we all get it,” Alix said, grinning broadly. Rose frowned and lightly smacked Alix’s arm.

“He’s okay, everyone,” Marinette said, and eyes shifted towards her. “But there’s something we need to tell you.”

Marinette took a deep breath, and heard as everyone in the room held theirs.

“Adrien and I… are dating.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehe.
> 
> A lot of people guessed some of how Marinette would pass off her actions last time. But I don't think she'll weasel her way out of this one so easily XD
> 
> They said I was crazy. They said I couldn't put a fake relationship inside a secret relationship. WELL WHO'S CRAZY NOW!?


	26. Revelations (But Not Like That)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group react to multiple couples announcing themselves. Alya and Rose must settle their bet.

The proclamation was met with silence. Everyone’s minds were racing, but none more so than Adrien’s. He had already made the choice to completely trust that Marinette was doing her best to help him, but he failed to see how telling their classmates that they were dating would help in this instance.

It was Chloé who eventually rose to the task of breaking the eternally stunned silence. “This is a joke, right? Adrikins? Tell me this is just some silly slumber party prank. There's no way you could possibly be dating  _ her _ .”

Ten faces glared at Chloé with disgust. Sabrina bit her lip, apparently recognising that Chloé had crossed the line as far as the group was concerned.

Marinette wanted to snap back, to tell Chloé in full detail just how wrong she was. This was made difficult by her thinking Chloé had a valid point. Adrien wouldn't date Marinette. Even if he weren't involved with her alter ego, they had been friends for such a long time and he'd never seemed to notice her, not in that way, and for most of their friendship he hadn't even really known Ladybug either. So, Marinette looked down at her feet instead of responding.

Adrien, on the other hand, was livid, though he didn't let it show on his face. Chloé was his oldest friend, and he didn't want that to change, but he had new friends too. He couldn't just sit back and let Chloé be so rude to someone so important to him, especially when it was completely unwarranted. He put his arm around Marinette’s shoulder.

“Why couldn't it be true? Who  _ wouldn't  _ want to date Marinette? She's incredibly kind, caring, thoughtful, considerate, always willing to help out  _ any _ one who needs it. She works so hard to support everyone around her, which she would do whether or not she was our class rep. She's clever, and creative - how many of us can say we made what we're wearing tonight? And she's one of my best friends, Chloé, just like you are. Everyone here tonight was invited, so if you can't be nice to the people I care about, you can leave.”

Adrien let himself look down at Marinette, and felt the awful hardness in his expression melt away. Marinette beamed back at him, despite being on the verge of tears. Her glistening eyes were unlike any Adrien had ever seen.

“Oh,” he added, keeping his eyes locked with Marinette’s. “As an added bonus, she's really cute.”

Adrien delighted in seeing Marinette’s eyebrows shoot up into her bangs and her cheeks turn red. Alya whooped and cheered. Chloé pouted.

“Fine then. Sabrina, let’s go,” Chloé said. She grabbed her bag herself and stormed out of the room.

Sabrina sighed and collected her own bag. At the door she turned back to the room. “Sorry, Adrien. I’ll try to talk to her. Thank you for having us.”

The moment the door had closed, the rest of the class began to cheer and congratulate the couple. Rose was loudest of all, clapping fiercely.

“That was beautiful, Adrien,” she said, choking back tears, and laughing as she did so. “In fact…”

She looked at Juleka and smiled. She nodded, and drew a deep breath.

“Juleka and I… are dating too!” she said, louder than the class had ever heard her before. Juleka took Rose’s hand and beamed at her. “And I don't want to steal your spotlight or anything, but what you said inspired me. I've been scared to say anything for a while now. But… I can't keep it inside any more!”

Rose was a little out of breath as she finished speaking.

“That's great, you guys. Congratulations,” Marinette said This prompted a chorus of well-wishing, with many moving to hug the couple, others just cheering and offering loud felicitations.

Kim, however, frowned. “Wait, but… I thought you liked boys, Rose. What about that Prince?”

Rose sighed, but gave Kim a patient smile, as though she'd expected this response. “Yeah, and I did. I'm pan. It doesn't make a difference to me what someone’s gender is.”

“Isn’t that like… bi?” Alix asked. Rose shook her head.

“It’s different. Bi means attracted to two or more genders, but gender is still a factor for you. Does that make sense?”

Murmurs of comprehension spread around the circle. Rose and Juleka beamed at their friends.

“I’m a little confused though,” Nathaniel said. “Was it a secret that you guys are together?”

“I’m of a similar mind. I thought everyone knew about Marinette and Adrien,” Max added.

Marinette winced. She had hoped that Rose and Juleka’s announcement would help her and Adrien blend in a little more and avoid scrutiny.

“What? People already thought we were together?” Adrien asked. He knew that Marinette had feelings for him, but the rest of the class believing them to be a couple was another thing altogether. Seeing as this ruse had only just begun, there was no way they could have possibly picked up on anything before, as there was nothing romantic between them.

“There… may or may not have been a bet that hinged upon it…” Alya mumbled, avoiding looking at Marinette. Adrien blushed deeply, while Marinette appeared stricken.

“Alya! You were… what was the bet?” she asked.

“Rose was absolutely sure the two of you were a couple because of how much closer you’ve been lately,” Juleka explained.

“While Alya and I didn’t think the two of you could have kept it a secret if you wanted to,” Nino sighed, shaking his head. He smiled and shrugged as he looked up at the pair. “Guess we were wrong. How long has it been?”

“A month,” Marinette said, before Adrien could even begin thinking of a way to avoid answering with a lie. From how readily Marinette gave the answer, Adrien figured she must have had it prepared, perhaps expecting the question to come up. He was surprised that it was the same length of time he had actually been dating Ladybug.

“Wait, really? That’s all?” Rose asked, frowning. Marinette confirmed her answer, and Rose’s face fell. Alya and Alix, however, both looked excited.

“Well that’s interesting,” Alix said, rubbing her hands together. “Because Rose bet you’d been together for at least two months already. While Alya bet that you weren’t dating at all.”

Rose and Alya looked to each other. Alya spoke first. “She's right. So I guess nobody wins? And nobody has to do the forfeit?”

“There's a forfeit?” Adrien asked.

Alix grinned broadly and ignored Adrien. "Not exactly. The bet said whoever was wrong faces the forfeit.”

“ _What forfeit_?” Marinette asked.

Rose and Alya turned to Adrien. They gulped.

 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, Rose and Alya were stood in the centre of the circle, with Adrien holding out a plate to each of them. He wasn't sure whether to frown or smile.

“I can't believe this is what you made the forfeit,” he said, shaking his head. Not that he could blame them. He was pretty sure he could see fumes coming off of each wedge rippling in the air.

“Are you sure it's not… corrosive?” Alya asked. At the same time, Rose turned her head and retched.

 

* * *

 

Marinette had excused herself to the bathroom while her friends were distracted, in order to deal with the nagging thumping coming from her bag. Once safely and securely alone, and at the far end of the room, just in case, Marinette opened her bag to let Tikki know the coast was clear.

Tikki had her tiny arms folded, and was somehow managing to audibly tap her foot on the air. She shook her head, though she was smiling.

“Well, well, well. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more confusing,” she said smugly.

Marinette sighed, but it swiftly turned into a groan. “I knooooow… It’s a mess. But this way I can make sure Adrien feels comfortable around everyone and doesn’t have to worry about getting caught out so much.”

“What about the fact that your friends all now think you’re dating Adrien, and you know you’re dating Adrien, so the only one left in the dark is  _ Adrien! _ ” Tikki asked.

“Well, to be fair, I’m not actually lying to anyone when I say he’s my boyfriend,” Marinette said, winking. Tikki was not impressed. “But he knew from the start there’d be secrets involved, including Ladybug keeping secrets from him. He trusted me to help him keep his secret, and I’ll do whatever I can to do that.”

“But what about what  _ you  _ need, Marinette?” Tikki asked, growing desperate. “Aren’t you going to get upset being around Adrien, acting like his girlfriend while he doesn’t think that’s true?”

“I can handle it, Tikki, I promise. It’d be so much worse if I weren’t dating Adrien as Ladybug, but since I am, I’m not going to feel too bad about it when we pretend to be close in public, because after that I can come see him in private,” Marinette said brightly, turning to leave the room. “Honestly, Tikki, you worry too much. Trust me.”

Tikki gave a weak smile and sighed. “I do. I’m… gonna go hang out with Plagg.”

“You’re gonna what?”

“I said I’m going to go hang out in your bag,” Tikki said, slightly slowly for clarity, but without missing a beat.

Tikki flitted back into Marinette’s pocket. As Marinette was about to open the bathroom door, it was suddenly banged upon hard.

“Marinette, hurry up, let us in!” Alya cried through the door. Marinette unlocked it, and Alya and Rose burst through. Alya rushed over to the sink and put her mouth around the faucet. Rose grabbed a tube of toothpaste and squeezed much of its contents directly onto her tongue.

Their classmates had gathered around the bathroom door, and were laughing hysterically.

“I’m guessing they weren’t huge fans of the cheese?” Marinette asked, with a small giggle.

“You could say that,” Adrien said. He shook his head. “I guess I’ve become desensitised to it?”

Alya had started trying to scrub her tongue with a hand towel, allowing Rose to use the sink to rinse her mouth out. Juleka pushed through the crowd to reach Rose, handing her one of the pastries Marinette had brought.

“Here, this’ll help get rid of the taste,” Juleka said, handing it to Rose.

Rose tore into it like a wild animal, crumbs flying everywhere. She swallowed, and sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Juleka,” Rose said, moving to hug and kiss her girlfriend. Juleka, however, leaned back.

“Uh, yeah, no. Not until I’m sure you don’t still taste of cheese.”

The group laughed, and with the spectacle over they moved back into the middle of Adrien’s bedroom. Adrien waited for Marinette, and when she reached the door he placed an arm around her shoulders confidently. Almost instantaneously, he became nervous.

“Is- is this okay?” he whispered.

Marinette nodded, placing her own arm around Adrien’s waist and pulling him closer. He relaxed, and they smiled at each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this one, it was my birthday last weekend and I've been busy. In just over a week I finish work for the summer, however, so I'll have more free time to write. Hopefully updates will pick up the pace then.
> 
> Got advice from both bi and pan friends on writing Rose's coming out. I wanted to include it because they're so cute and deserve it, and sexuality is something that's still not represented enough.
> 
> We're nearing the end of this sleepover mini-arc!


	27. Upon the Balcony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki & Plagg are exasperated by their humans. Marinette & Adrien talk things out at the end of the night.

As the group settled back down, it became apparent that there would be no returning to spin the bottle. The two newly public couples made clear that they did not feel comfortable about kissing other people. Ivan and Myléne agreed. Alya and Nino looked at each other and shrugged.

“Man, that’s a bummer,” Kim sighed, slumping back against the ramp. “I never got to kiss anybody.”

Alix rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever, I’ll kiss you if you’re that desperate.”

Kim did a double take and began to blush. “Oh! Uh, n-no, that’s okay. Really.”

Sensing his weakness, Alix grinned broadly, and walked over to him. She put her hand on the wall by Kim’s head, and leaned forwards. “Go on Kim, just one little kiss.  _ I dare you _ .”

Everyone groaned.

“I thought we were done with all the dares,” Myléne said.

“Oh, don’t worry. You guys don’t have to do dares if you don’t want to. You could choose truth. Truth or Dare!” Alix yelled.

Some sighs, some mutters, and some mild laughter made their way around the group. Eventually, they all agreed to play Truth or Dare. Marinette and Adrien, in particular, were happy to go along with it, as they were perfectly happy to each pick dare every time.

“And first up is Kim, who picks dare, and I dare Kim to kiss me,” Alix said. “And stop whining,” she added as an afterthought.

 

* * *

 

Up on the walkway above that served as Adrien’s personal library, Plagg lay watching quietly cackling at the kids’ antics.

“Hi Plagg,” Tikki said, almost yawning. She plopped down to sit beside her fellow kwami.

“Hey, Tikki. You okay? You seem exhausted,” Plagg said.

“I’ve just spoken to Marinette about what’s going on… have you been paying attention?” she asked

“Are you kidding? I haven’t had this much fun in ages. Want some popcorn?” he asked, gesturing towards the small bowl beside him. She shook her head. “Just as well, you wouldn’t like it. It’s cheesey, not sweet.”

“These kids are crazy though, it’s hilarious. They go through all this effort just to have an excuse to kiss each other, when they could just say, ‘I would like to kiss you. Would you like to kiss me?’” Plagg continued, putting on a falsely deep voice, then laughing at his own joke. “Humans just like to make things so complicated.”

“Right, complicated. That’s what I’m talking about. You saw what was going on with Adrien and Marinette, right?” she asked nervously. Plagg cocked his head to one side.

“Uh, unless you mean their costumes, I must have missed it while I was getting my popcorn. Why?” he asked.

“Marinette told everyone they were dating,” she said. Plagg appeared deeply confused.

“Wait, she said- what? She said who’s dating? She said Adrien is dating Ladybug?”

“No, she said that Adrien is dating  _ Marinette _ . Were you not wondering why they had their arms wrapped around each other?”

“But that’s just a thing humans do! Adrien and Nino do it all the time! Is this different somehow?”

Tikki nodded, smiling to comfort him. Plagg groaned, and Tikki moved closer to pat him on the head.

“Wait,” Plagg eventually said, slowly. “Adrien hates lying when he can help it. So did they talk to each other? Have they finally had the conversation they should have had  _ months _ ago?”

“No. Marinette just did both of the talking for both of them,” Tikki sighed, looking down at the pair. She paused for a moment, then turned back to Plagg. “Wait, you think they should tell each other their identities!?”

“Ugh, YES,” Plagg groaned. “I’m so tired of it all. I thought the pining was bad, but secrecy and the absurdity of the whole thing is just unbearable.”

“And what if Hawkmoth captures one of them and forces them to reveal the other’s identity!”

“If he was going to do that, don’t you think he’d have made Cat Noir reveal his own identity all those times he’s been brainwashed or controlled or whatever?”

“That’s… a good point…” Tikki said. She sat down, not have realised she’d started hovering above and towards Plagg.

“I’ll talk to Adrien once this whole thing is over with and see how he feels about everything. But honestly, I just think they need to reveal all already,” he said.

 

* * *

 

Truth or Dare ultimately did not last long; apparently in protest of Alix forcing the game upon the group, everyone ignored both her and Kim as they chose their would-be victims. Each time someone was picked, however, they chose truth, and were treated to an utterly innocuous question such as “what’s your favourite ice cream flavour?”. Eventually Alix threw her arms up and admitted defeat, and the game came to and end.

For a while afterwards, the circle simply chatted. Eventually, Alya realised she had a bone to pick with her best friend’s boyfriend.

“Hold up,” she said, holding her hands up to silence the room. Kim pouted over his recount of his most recent swimming race being interrupted. “So earlier, Marinette drank to say she’d dated someone in the room before. And you were super cagey about it, but that checks out now. So how come  _ you _ didn’t drink, Agreste?”

Adrien hesitated for a moment, but found he didn’t need to think too hard to find an answer. “I guess it’s just… the wording? To me dating sounds like you go out for dinner with someone you don’t really know. This is so much more. It’s a relationship.”

Rose, Juleka, Myléne, and Ivan all gave a long, drawn-out “awww!”. Marinette beamed at Adrien, and he had a flash of anxiety that she thought he really was saying that about her, but her quick thumbs-up a moment later assuaged that.

Rose was eager to hear more about how Marinette and Adrien had started dating.

“Oh, well, it’s uh… it’s a really boring story, to be honest…” Marinette said defensively, looking up at the ceiling.

“Tell us more about how you guys got together,” Adrien said. Rose and Juleka both blushed, but had large smiles as they began going telling their story.

 

* * *

 

“It’s getting kinda late. How about we watch a movie?” Alya suggested eventually. Murmurs of agreement came from around the room.

Furniture was rearranged to give everyone good view of Adrien’s TV. Seats were chosen, with Rose and Juleka fully embracing being able to demonstrate public displays of affection by fully embracing. Not wanting to stand out, Marinette sat next to Adrien with her legs out to one side, leaning against him. As Adrien held Marinette to his side, he was mildly surprised at how comfortable he felt being so close and intimate with Marinette.

Just before the film began, the lights were turned off.

Over the following two hours, as the film played out, yawns began to spread across the room. Some, such as Ivan and Myléne, eventually decided they wanted to go and lie down, and Adrien directed them to the pile of sleeping bags in one cupboard. Others, like Kim and Alix, took it as a challenge to force themselves to stay awake, and ended up nodding off where they sat.

By the time the credits started rolling, only Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette were left still awake. Adrien looked around at those who had fallen where they were, and grinned.

“We probably don’t want to disturb these guys, huh?” he whispered. “I’ll go get a few blankets for them to make things easier.”

The others gave Adrien a thumbs up as  he got up and crept out of his room to a linen cupboard. When he returned, the three of them had moved. He covered up those who needed it before looking around.

He scoffed as he saw that Nino had been bold enough to take his bed, curled up beside Alya. He shook his head. As he looked around, however, he saw no sign of Marinette, and the bathroom door was open.

“Psst,” he heard after a moment. “Up here.”

Adrien looked up and saw Marinette smiling down at him from his balcony. He took the spiral staircase slowly to meet her. She was sitting cross-legged, and seemed to have been waiting for him there. He sat down opposite her and also crossed hislegs, putting the last blanket down next to him.

“Hey. How come you’re up here? Are you not tired?” Adrien asked. Marinette shook her head. Adrien smiled. “Yeah, me neither. I’m kinda used to being up late. Guess we’re a pair of night owls, huh?”

Marinette nodded, beaming at Adrien. Her smile faltered, and she bit her lip. “I thought… you might want to talk about… everything. Not really had a chance… I’m sorry I didn’t ask first. I just thought… it was the best plan and didn’t really stop to consider there might be another option.”

Adrien chuckled. A light caught the corner of his eye, and he looked towards the window. He hadn’t realised how full and bright the moon was tonight while the film had been on.

“It’s okay, Marinette. I understand. You’re really putting yourself on the line to help me here, and I’m so grateful. But… don’t you feel bad? Lying so much for me?”

Marinette thought for a moment, screwing up her lips and biting the inside of her cheek. Hopefully, to Adrien it just looked like she was contemplating how to explain her moral choice. She couldn’t simply explain that each word of what she had said had been true.

“I think,” she began, slowly, choosing each word carefully. “To me, at least, there’s a difference. A difference between lying maliciously, to get what you want, or to trick people for your own benefit; and… lying to help others. To protect people. Not to get anything for yourself, but protect something… important.”

Adrien’s blush was hidden by the dim light. He smiled. “Like a… white lie?”

“Exactly,” Marinette said, but then she frowned. “What about you? Does it bother you?”

Adrien leaned back, placing his hands behind to steady himself. He grinned mischievously. “Well, I never actually told a lie. You told everyone about the relationship, I just didn’t correct you. Everything I said tonight is true.”

Marinette scrutinised him. “And you don’t think lying by omission counts?”

“Not when it’s to protect someone important,” Adrien said with a wink. When Marinette appeared confused, he clarified, “I wouldn’t want our friends to think  _ you’re  _ a liar.”

Marinette giggled. “Okay, but what about everything you said to Chloé?”

“What about it? Every word of it was true. Why would I have to lie to talk about how awesome you are?” Adrien asked. He smiled, and chuckled.

Marinette’s blush was not as easily concealed as Adrien’s. She replayed everything Adrien said about her earlier in the night in her head, committing it to memory. Especially the comment about her being cute.

“So… am I allowed to ask who here you actually  _ have  _ dated?” Adrien asked. He was smiling, but when Marinette looked away uneasily, he was distraught. “Oh, no it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was honestly just curious. But you don't have to tell me. Hey, who am I to judge anyone for keeping secrets?”

He beamed at Marinette, and, after a moment, she smiled broadly back.

“So, what’s up with…”

The early light of dawn crept through the window before Marinette and Adrien stopped talking.

 

* * *

 

Sniggers and whispers were the first sounds Marinette heard when she eventually awoke. However, she was warm, and comfortable, and did not want to be awake yet, so she did not move. It was a wolf whistle that eventually stirred her enough for her to open her eyes.

Looking down at her were Alya, Nino, Juleka, and Max. All of them were smirking, their eyes flitting back and forth from Marinette to meet each other’s, and they were all dressed.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Alya said.

“Well, good afternoon, technically,” Max corrected.

“Guess I slept in a while, huh…” Marinette mumbled, her eyes drooping closed again.

“Uh huh. And you're not the only one,” Nino said, on the verge of laughter.

Marinette turned her head to frown up at him, and felt the fabric under her face. Her stomach lurched as she realised she was laying on Adrien’s chest. Her eyes blinked themselves clear and she looked around. They were still on Adrien’s balcony. Adrien was laid on his back with his head on Marinette’s arm, which was sure to be dead for the rest of the day. The blanket covered them, but it was clear that Marinette was curled against Adrien’s chest.

Less clear, however, was that Adrien’s arms were wrapped around her. That is, until Marinette tried to get up, and Adrien, apparently still asleep, squeezed Marinette tighter and held her against his chest.

Marinette could not bring herself to be embarrassed. From a mix of her being in a relationship with Adrien being public knowledge, and simply being too tired, she decided not to care what her friends thought in that moment. Instead, she closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into Adrien’s chest.

For the rest of the weekend, Marinette would simply enjoy her fantasy of a normal, public relationship with Adrien. She would deal with any fallout on Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, sleepover mini arc is over! That was longer than I expected :P
> 
> I know there's technically no bed, but they're not gonna be sharing a hotel room any time soon so this is what we get :P Considering they weren't sharing a bed, I think the fact they snuggled all night is even cuter ;)


	28. Dine with the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel wants to meet his son's new girlfriend

With the performance of the play coming up at the end of the week, Miss Bustier had set aside all other literature lessons in favour of more time for rehearsals.

When they had first read through the play’s climax, Adrien and Marinette had pushed for extra dialogue for the four lovers to make clear the happy ending for all of the couples involved. They had rallied enough of the class behind them that Miss Bustier relented and worked with them to add dialogue. Their classmates now believed that they had pushed so hard for this for a chance to be more romantic on stage together by the end of the play. Marinette had to admit to herself, that was indeed a perk, but she'd only argued the case as she'd been genuinely unclear on how the play ended.

Adrien was somewhat regretting his actions. If he had to pretend in front of his friends that he and Marinette were a couple, he'd rather do so quietly, not to draw attention to their deception. That he would ideally shower his actual girlfriend with love and affection for all the world to see was neither here nor there.

Chloé was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the day. She did not interrupt, she did not upset anyone; she simply read her dialogue when needed. At the end of the day, she was first through the door, Sabrina close on her heels.

When Adrien arrived home for his Chinese lesson, he found his father standing in wait for him in the atrium.

“Hello, father. How was your trip to Milan?” Adrien asked. He said it brightly, but he didn't expect a positive response. In truth, seeing his father waiting for him led Adrien to believe that he must have somehow upset his father.

“Miserable and pointless as I had assumed, the same could have been achieved with a half hour conference call,” Gabriel said, confirming Adrien’s suspicions. He paused, then added, “I trust you had an enjoyable social experience with your classmates?”

Adrien was a little taken aback by his father taking an interest in his personal life. Despite that, he still detected Gabriel’s discomfort, but he was unsure If it was due to being so out of practise with asking about others, or if it's because it was hiding something less pleasant.

“Yes, father. Thank you again for allow-"

“So it has come to my attention,” Gabriel said loudly, clearly more interested in what he had to say next, “that you are courting a Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Adrien swallowed. “Y-yes father. How did you-"

“It is not relevant how I know this, Adrien. The fact is that I do. One of your friends who has your best interests at heart saw fit to inform me,” Gabriel said.

He stepped towards Adrien, towering over his son, and Adrien closed his eyes nervously. He opened them again when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Adrien. Please. I… I want you to be happy,” Gabriel said. He actually managed to smile, though Adrien was sure he could hear his father’s cheeks cracking from the strain. It only lasted a moment. “However. Your relationship status, and with whom you are involved is a matter of your public image. So, as both your father and your agent, I wish to meet your paramore. The three of us shall have dinner together, here, Thursday evening. I trust I have made myself perfectly clear?”

Adrien nodded, and without another word his father left.

 

* * *

 

Adrien sighed as he closed his bedroom door. Of all the parts of his life for his father to take an interest in, it had to be the part he'd have to lie about. He flopped down onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling - or he would have, had his view not been obstructed.

“You really shouldn't leave your window open when you're not home, you know. Anybody could come on in,” Ladybug said. She sprang from the balcony and bounced onto the bed next to Adrien.

“Ladybug!” Adrien cried, wrapping his arms around her neck, pulling her down with him. They both soon fell about giggling. “I've missed you. Sorry I forgot to email, I've had the craziest weekend.”

“I'll bet,” Ladybug said, smiling coyly. “How was the sleepover?”

“Well, it was a lot of fun. We played loads of games… and people were sharing secrets… and… well,” Adrien stammered, hesitating. Ladybug smiled encouragingly. “Long story short, in order to keep our relationship a secret, my friend Marinette had to pretend that… we’re dating.”

“Oh, dang.”

Adrien had been bracing himself for a freak out. For tears. For an argument. He had not been prepared for an “oh dang”.

“You- you're not upset?” he asked, sitting up. Ladybug sat up along with him.

“Of course not. Why would I be? It's not like you kissed her or anything, right? It sounds like she was just trying to help you. I trust you, Adrien,” she said.

Adrien smiled. “I love you, Ladybug.”

“I love you too, pretty boy. Was there anything else?”

“Well, there was a fair bit of cuddling. You know, to keep up appearances. We sort of… fell asleep cuddling, actually…”

Ladybug scrutinised him. “Well, as long as there are plenty of cuddles left for me,” she said. She pulled Adrien towards her, wrapping her arms around his stomach and pulling him down, spooning him. He sighed, closing his eyes to enjoy the embrace.

“And just to top off all the craziness, my dad just came back from his business trip and said he wants her to come to dinner!”

This time, Ladybug wasn't so quick with a pithy response. Now it was her time to stutter, as she said, “O-oh, really? That… that, uh… that sounds like it'll be… interesting.”

“Tell me about it. Be grateful you don't have to meet him. You'll owe Marinette a big thank you one day, Lovebug,” Adrien said.

“Eh heh heh… yeah…”

 

* * *

 

Throughout the next few days, Adrien avoided bringing the dinner up with Marinette. At Ladybug’s suggestion, he had messaged her about it straight away, but he still felt rather uncomfortable about the situation. He caught up with her as she was leaving after the final bell rang.

“Hey, Marinette! I’m really sorry I got you caught up in all this,” he said. For the sake of appearances, he put an arm around her shoulder. It felt less awkward to him than holding her hand.

Marinette smiled at Adrien, and mentally hi-fived herself as she thought about how far she’d come from the girl who would fall over just from hearing Adrien’s name. “Don’t worry about it, _sweetie_ ,” she said pointedly, her eyes darting to their classmates also leaving school. “I’m sure it’ll be fun. But now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go home and get ready. What time are you picking me up?”

Adrien blinked, dumbstruck by Marinette’s confidence and response. He hadn’t even noticed when she’d slipped from his side, now stood in front of him at the bottom of the steps at the school’s entrance. “Uh, well, I’d figured you’d just head back with me from school… what do you need to get ready?”

Marinette’s face made clear to Adrien that that had clearly been an absurd question. She waved her hands over herself to highlight her clothes. “Your dad is the top fashion designer in Paris! I need to look my best!”

Adrien smiled fondly at the effort Marinette was going to just to help him. “5 o’clock?”

Marinette smiled back, then turned to walk away. “See you then.”

 

* * *

 

“So, what do you think?” Marinette asked, as she met Adrien out on the street an hour later.

Adrien was gaping, a blush crossing his cheeks. Marinette’s cheeks tinted pink in response as well, and she smiled. The top was black with a sweetheart neckline and a sheer white collar. The bottom was white with black spots, and both the bottom and the neckline had a pale pink trim. Separating the two parts of the dress was a matching pink satin belt.

“Uh, Adrien… are you in there?”

At that, Adrien realised he’d been staring. With his mouth hanging open. He turned away and blushed even harder.

“Sorry. It’s just… you made that yourself, right?” Adrien said. He led Marinette back to his car and opened the door for her.

Marinette sat down in the car, slumping both her shoulders and face. She looked down at her outfit. “Yeah… is it that obvious?”

Adrien sat down beside her and smiled broadly. “Well, yeah. I recognise your style. I’ve seen a lot of what you’ve made; nobody in Paris is as good as you.”

“Probably best not to say that to your father,” Marinette said. There was a moment’s pause before the two of them fell about laughing.

 

* * *

 

They were still laughing as they pulled up to the house. As Marinette reached for the door handle, Adrien told her to wait. He ran around to her side of the car and opened the door for her. Marinette giggled.

“Such a gentleman,” she said.

“But of course, my lady,” Adrien said, bowing. Marinette hesitated at the word, almost ready to scold and tease her kitty. But this wasn’t Cat Noir, it was Adrien just being polite. She smiled back at him. Adrien let go of the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding as Marinette smiled. He never called anyone but Ladybug that, but it just seemed to fit.

As they reached the door, Adrien turned to Marinette and said, “You ready?”

Before Marinette could respond, the door swung open. Gabriel stood in the centre of the atrium.

“Uh… good evening, father. This is Marinette… Dupain-Cheng,” Adrien said. He had not moved. Marinette took his hand and squeezed it, then led him into the house. Gabriel looked Marinette over, but did not say anything. Adrien swallowed, then spoke more confidently. “Remember? She won your design contest?”

Marinette met Gabriel’s eyes. She immediately realised he remembered her, but not from designing a hat. He was remembering the girl who “borrowed” his precious book. She gulped, but stood firm.

Eventually, however, Gabriel smiled, which was perhaps even more unsettling. “Of course. I was just admiring your dress, Miss Dupain-Cheng. It’s quite unique. Who designed it?”

Adrien beamed at Marinette, and she smiled herself. “I did, Mr Agreste. I just finished it up yesterday, in fact…”

Gabriel raised one eyebrow. “Really? The styling is much like my own new summer line. Sweetheart necklines and spots are going to be the trend this year. You have excellent taste, Marinette. Of course, I would have opted for scarlet rather than lavender for the trim, to better match your colouring, but of course, your personal preference is important, too. Well, shall we?”

Without another word, Gabriel turned and left for the dining room.

“Wow, great job, Marinette! I’ve never heard my dad say anything as nice as that to anyone before!”

Marinette’s moment of jubilation at Gabriel’s praise turned to concern. “Wait, what? He must have said things like that to you before though, right?”

Adrien winced, and looked as though he’d bit into a lemon. Marinette suddenly felt very cold. They were stirred from this reverie by a throat being cleared.

“Your father will not appreciate being kept waiting, Adrien,” Nathalie said. The two teens started, then quickly headed after Gabriel.

 

* * *

 

“So,” said Gabriel, between bites of beef ragu, “exactly how long have the two of you been engaged in a relationship?”

Marinette choked. Adrien patted her on the back and handed her a glass of water.

“E- Engaged? No, no, we, um, we…” Marinette stammered out, trailing off into silence. Gabriel once again cocked his brow.

“A month,” Adrien said. “That’s what she’s trying to say.”

“Only one month? But how could that be possible. Your relationship was widely reported on several months ago.”

Adrien and Marinette both thought back to the day they were chased around Paris by Gorizilla. Marinette cringed at the memory of being seen so widely in her pyjamas.

“Oh, no, sir, that really was just a big misunderstanding. It was a total accident that I bumped into Adrien, but even then he was a close friend. I couldn’t leave him like that, I had to help him,” Marinette explained, looking at Adrien fondly.

“I see. Well, that is most certainly a relief, knowing you were not dressed in that way with the intention of meeting my son. I was rather concerned about what exactly you had planned,” Gabriel said.

Both teens blushed deeply, and began rapidly trying to reassure Gabriel. He held up a hand to silence them, and his lip twitched up.

“That was a joke,” he said. As if to demonstrate the point, he gave a single mirthless chuckle. Marinette and Adrien both forced out laughs.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the dinner was amicable. Gabriel continued asking Marinette questions about herself, her aspirations, her relationship with Adrien. Adrien was deeply impressed by Marinette’s ability to cope with and keep up with the interrogation, and Marinette spoke about him so warmly and fondly that he couldn’t help but swoon inside.

The three course meal was followed by drinks and mints, during which the conversation died down.

“Well, thank you for joining us this evening, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Gabriel said abruptly the moment she had put down her teacup. “It has been most enlightening. I shall have you driven home,” he added, nodding to the Gorilla.

“Oh,” Marinette said simply. She looked at Adrien. He met her with a blank look, and he blinked. “Okay. Well, um, thank you so much for having me. Everything has been lovely…”

Before they knew it, the Gorilla was ushering them out of the room.

“Wait just a moment, Adrien,” Gabriel called before they were out of sight. “I would like you to remain here. There are matters which we must discuss promptly.”

Adrien frowned. “Father, it would be the height of rudeness for me not to accompany Marinette home-”

“She will be perfectly safe with your bodyguard,” Gabriel interrupted. Adrien sighed. He knew arguing back would not change his father’s mind.

Adrien followed Marinette to the door, where they lingered as the Gorilla went to bring the car around. “I’m really sorry about him, Marinette. He spends all his time shut up indoors, I think he’s forgotten how to interact with real people.”

Marinette giggled. “It’s all right. It was lovely getting to spend time with you.”

Adrien smiled. The car pulled in front of the house, and Marinette began to walk towards it. Before she could take more than two steps, Adrien had grabbed her hand, then kissed her on the cheek. Once Adrien had pulled away, Marinette’s cheek was burning crimson.

“Goodnight, Marinette.”

She smiled. “Goodnight, Adrien.”

 

* * *

 

Adrien lingered in the doorway, watching and waving as they drove away, only closing the door once the car was out of sight. He sighed and went back to the dining room.

Gabriel said nothing as Adrien entered. He stood and waited for a while, unsure what to say without angering his father. Eventually, Adrien could take the silence no more. “So, um… did you like her?”

Gabriel looked up. “Hm? Oh, yes, she’s a wonderful young girl. However, it seems that must be exactly the problem.”

The ticking of the clock was deafening to Adrien in the silence that followed these words. “What does that mean?”

“It means that Nathalie has informed me that your teachers have reported your performance has been slipping in each of your extra-curricular classes over the last month. Now, at first I thought this was most likely unrelated to your romantic situation, having believed that to have begun several months ago. But now I see they are directly correlated. Therefore, I have no choice but to forbid you from pursuing this relationship with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Adrien’s stomach lurched. “Y-you can’t!”

“My decision is final.”

Adrien stormed from the room. Moments later, Gabriel heard him slam his bedroom door. He stroked his violet brooch with one finger, and smiled broadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh I'm so sorry this took so long.
> 
> I've been on holiday for the past 6 weeks. I'd hoped that I'd be able to write MORE in that time, but instead I couldn't get anything done. I'm back now, and hopefully will be able to get back to a somewhat more regular schedule. This fic is not and shall not be abandoned!
> 
> So while writing this, I asked my fiancé, Alex, for suggestions for Marinette's dress design. I'd just wanted a few key points to describe. Three minutes later she sent back a simple sketch of this design. I was blown away by how fast she came back with it. And then I woke up this morning to this full art... and look at it! It's breathtaking, and Marinette is adorable! :D
> 
> You can find more of Alex's art at ptchew.tumblr.com.


	29. The Show Must Go On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Performance night for the class play has finally arrived. Adrien has some unfortunate news for Marinette.

The drive home gave Marinette the quiet and solitude to over-analyse her every action during dinner. Did she use the wrong spoon? Did she sit too close to Adrien? Was stealing the Miraculous book going to haunt her until she succumbed to the icy grip of death?

She needed to get out of her own head. That gave her only one option.

“So, do you like working for the Agrestes?” she asked, calling to her driver. She just barely saw the Gorilla’s eyes flit to the rear view mirror to look at her. “I mean, you must like it well enough, at least, if you got turned into a giant gorilla just so you could find Adrien…”

After a solid minute of silence, Marinette sighed and said, “It's okay, you can raise the partition…” Once she was sure she could no longer be seen, she flopped onto her side in dismay.

 

* * *

 

Marinette kept her composure as she thanked the Gorilla and raced upstairs. She tried going straight up to her room, but she was halted by her parents.

“Hi sweetie, did you have a good time?” Sabine asked. She and Tom were both sitting in the lounge and turned to look at Marinette as she came in. It seemed they wanted to give the impression that they had not been sitting there waiting for her, but the fact that the television was already switched off told Marinette otherwise.

“Oh, yeah, it was great, but I-"

“You know,” Tom interrupted, “you'll have to invite Adrien over here some time, Marinette, so we can meet him.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve met Adrien before,” Marinette said, momentarily distracted from her internal freak-out.

“Yeah, but not as your boyfriend!” Sabine cried.

“I need to intimidate him with my overprotective dad speech,” Tom said. To illustrate his point, he pulled what was evidently meant to be a scary face, but just came across as a pouting toddler. Marinette and Sabine both laughed.

“Good luck with that one, dad,” Marinette said, taking her chance to dash upstairs before they tried to continue the conversation.

 

* * *

 

Adrien fell onto his bed face first and gave a frustrated scream into his pillow. Plagg crawled out from under him and sat next Adrien's head.

“Can you believe him, Plagg? I can’t believe he’s actually trying to tell me who I am or am not allowed to go out with!” he said when he eventually sat up.

“But… I don’t get it. What’s the big deal? It’s like she’s really your girlfriend or anything,” Plagg said.

It took a few moments longer than it ought to have for Adrien to respond, as though he’d just been reminded of something he’d forgotten. When he did answer, he spat his response out sourly. “I know that! But he’s still just trying to control every little aspect of my life. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to make me go through with an arranged marriage.”

“I get that and all, but this seems like you’ve just been handed an easy out to this ridiculous situation you’ve put yourself in,” Plagg said.

“No, Plagg! I can’t let him control me like this!” Adrien said, jumping back to his feet. “If I let him get away with this now, then what’s to stop him doing the same thing later?” Adrien asked. He stared at Plagg fiercely, daring him to counter the point.

“Huh. So you mean… if one day you brought home your  _ real _ girlfriend… and he made you break up with her too…” Plagg said slowly, as it clicked what that would mean if it were indeed Ladybug he brought home.

“Exactly,” Adrien said, holding up his fist. “If I let him win this, he’ll be able to tell me to do whatever he wants, or date whoever he wants, and I will  _ not _ let him break up me and Marinette!”

Plagg’s eyes went wide. Eventually, Adrien gasped.

“Did you just-?”

“I mean - Ladybug!”

Adrien sat down and slumped. Plagg patted him on the shoulder.

“Oh no.”

 

* * *

 

“Tikki!” Marinette wailed once she was safely in the confines of her room. Tikki flitted up from Marinette’s bag, as Marinette collapsed onto her chaise lounge. “This is a disaster! Adrien’s dad hates me!”

“Marinette, you’re being ridiculous,” Tikki said patiently. “If Mr Agreste hated you, he wouldn’t have even invited you to dinner. And you were nothing but charming throughout it all. Don’t worry so much!”

Marinette sat up and sighed. “I guess you’re right, Tikki. I hope Adrien’s okay though. Even if his dad wasn’t mad at me, he was upset about  _ something _ …”

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Tikki suggested.

“I can’t just send him a message and ask, Tikki. Ladybug has no reason to think anything is wrong.”

“I meant why don’t  _ you _ ask him, Marinette. You’re his friend, you just want to make sure everything is all right,” Tikki said, shaking her head. 

“Oh, good idea!” Marinette said, beginning to text Adrien.

_ Hey Adrien. Was everything okay with your dad? x _

It was hours before Adrien replied. Just as Marinette was drifting off to sleep, Adrien sent a much briefer message than she was used to.

_ All good. _

 

* * *

 

Performance day for  _ A Midsummer Night’s Dream _ had arrived, so all other lessons were cancelled for the day in order to finalise props, costumes, and rehearsal. Adrien knew he needed to talk to Marinette, but it was somehow impossible to get a moment alone with her. She spent the morning touching up everyone’s costumes, or adding last minute changes, and in the afternoon they were rehearsing lines together on the stage set up in the courtyard.

It was not until an hour before the show was supposed to start, when Miss Bustier said they should all take a break, either to get food or just to make sure they were as relaxed as could be before the show, that  Adrien was finally able to approach Marinette to talk. Before he could say more than, “Hey,” they were interrupted.

“I need to talk to you two,” said an oversized donkey head. Chloé was in full costume, which gave her a mouth hole to breathe and speak clearly, and eyeholes that Marinette had managed to cleverly obscure. Otherwise, her face was hidden.

Marinette covered her face with her script to hide her silent laughter, the sight of which was enough to make Adrien give a small smile.

“Hey, Chloé. Do you wanna take that thing off maybe?” he suggested. Chloé folded her arms.

“No. Because it's going to be a lot easier for me to say this if you can't see my face,” she said. She took a deep breath. “I… I’m s- ugh. I'm sorry, okay. I was… over-the-top last weekend. Whatever. I don't know… are we good?”

Chloé held out a pinky to Adrien and looked directly at him. Marinette knew Chloé’s view of her would be cut off by the costume. Marinette smiled nonetheless.

Adrien linked it with his own finger. “Yeah, we're cool, Chloé.”

“Good!” Chloé said, hurriedly moving away from the pair.

“I knew there was some good in her. Buried deep, deep…  _ deep _ down,” Marinette said warmly. “So what's up, Adrien?”

“Can we talk? In private?”

Marinette agreed, and Adrien led her into the locker room.

“What's up? Was everything okay last night?” Marinette asked. Adrien saw she was concerned for him, but not overly worried. Clearly, she didn’t suspect what he was about to say or she’d have been devastated.

Or, perhaps she didn’t put as much stock into a fake relationship as he apparently did. Adrien knew she liked him, and surely enjoyed getting to spend more time with him, but he trusted her completely. He knew she wouldn’t try to interfere with his actual relationship.

“Well, to be honest, no, not really,” Adrien said, with a sigh. Marinette placed an arm on Adrien’s forearm. Her touch comforted him, but that made it all the harder to keep going. “My father… said he doesn’t want us to date any more.”

Adrien struggled to read the range of emotions that played out across Marinette’s face in response to this. Obviously, it was a ridiculous thing to be told. Adrien imagined she’d be disappointed, perhaps offended, but more than anything she looked deeply hurt.

“Oh,” Marinette said eventually, her voice breaking. She cleared her throat, but that did nothing to stop her sounding so hoarse. “H-how come?”

Undoubtedly, her upset had to be believing that her idol did not like her. Adrien could, at least, assuage that fear. “Don’t worry, it’s not really anything to do with you. He said that in the last month I’ve not been doing as well on my fencing or Chinese lessons. He thinks you’re a distraction. I guess my focus has slipped a little since my girlfriend and I have been together.”

Adrien scratched the back of his neck and grinned. He’d been sure that would make Marinette feel a little better, at least, but she still looked pained.

“So, um… Well, I figured… this would be the best way for us to ‘break up’, so you don’t have to be weighed down by me any more,” Adrien said awkwardly. He certainly couldn’t tell Marinette the real reason he was so willing to use the excuse. He tried to meet Marinette’s eyes, but she’d turned her head away from him. “Are... you okay?”

“Yeah! Totally fine!” Marinette said, turning back to smile at Adrien. Her eyes were brimming with tears and her voice was unnaturally high-pitched. “You head on back out there. I’ll be out in a few minutes, okay?”

“Yeah… okay,” Adrien said, heading for the door. He paused before leaving, turning to say, “Marinette… thank you. No matter what, you’re one of my best friends.”

The moment the door had closed behind Adrien, Marinette caved, collapsing onto a bench and letting her tears fall freely. There was no bawling or sobbing; Marinette cried quietly. She wanted to talk through her feelings with Tikki, but she’d left her bag behind the stage with Tikki resting inside.

She felt embarrassed at herself for being so upset. It wasn't as though Adrien was actually breaking up with Ladybug… but despite herself, she couldn't help but hear those words as though she'd been transformed.

While Adrien may not have wanted to break up, the fact remained that Gabriel did not want her involved with his son. Aside from the blow it was to her that from one of her inspirations, one day, once she was able to reveal her identity to Adrien, she wanted a public relationship with him. That would be all the harder with Gabriel already having forbidden Adrien from doing so.

In actuality, she had hoped that she'd be able to maintain the “fake” relationship right up until she could reveal the truth, so they wouldn't have to stage a breakup or a reconciliation. But now everything was crumbling apart.

 

* * *

 

“How interesting…” Hawkmoth said out loud, stroking his chin as he stared out of his observatory. He had been on alert the whole day. “The son whose love was forbidden by his father remained calm. But no matter… how much sweeter it is that he delivered the crushing blow to her…”

He drew a butterfly towards his hand, enclosing it in his fist. “Well, you know what they say. Like father, like son. Fly away, little akuma, and evilise this lovelorn girl!”

 

* * *

 

Soon thereafter, the dark little bug phased through the walls of the school, and began to approach Marinette...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of little bits going on here.
> 
> Excited to be getting to the play. It originally wasn't even part of the story, it just came up through writing, but it's been such a major part of the fic, including inspiring the title.
> 
> Props to Draxynnic for predicting that Gabriel's actions would ultimately be the catalyst for Marinette getting targeted. Buuuuuut I'm sure this will be fine ^_^


	30. Playright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawkmoth sends an akuma after Marinette. Cat Noir explains why he loves Ladybug.

“Let’s see… they’re about to perform their Shakespeare play… that’s it, I’ll call her Playright,” Hawkmoth said. He was stood in his lair, waiting for his akuma to evilise Marinette. He stroked his chin as he contemplated her villainous identity. “She’ll have the power to right the wrong of being separated from her beloved, and write her own happy ending… and mine!”

He grinned up at his observation window. “Yes. Yes, that’s good… Now we’ll see how Ladybug and Cat Noir like being written as the villains!”

 

* * *

 

The soft sound of fluttering wings drew Marinette’s attention. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to see the akuma directly in front of her. She yelped and leapt to her feet.

“An akuma! Oh no, oh no! Get it together, Marinette!” she said to herself. She took steps back until she collided with the lockers. Marinette knew she needed to calm down and steady her emotions, but that was made all the harder by the fear of seeing the akuma coming for her on top of everything else. She didn't know what would happen if an akuma tried to take over a Miraculous holder, and she didn't want to find out.

As the butterfly inched closer, Marinette readied herself. She saw it moving towards the script in her hand. She considered throwing it away, but knew that wouldn’t save her. Before it could make contact, she ducked and rolled out of the way, making a dash for the doors.

The courtyard was full of Marinette’s classmates setting up chairs for the show. Everyone looked towards the locker room as she exploded out into the open space. Marinette made a dash behind the stage and grabbed her bag.

“Hey, M, what's going on? Are you okay?” Alya asked.

Marinette was panting, but managed to simply say, “Akuma!” and point up to the fluttering bug. She had hoped to avoid causing a panic, but thought the commotion her friends caused by fleeing might allow her to find somewhere to transform now that she had reunited with Tikki.

She looked around for an empty room, ruling out all those back in the direction of the akuma. Marinette wasn't clear exactly how Hawkmoth kept tabs on his prey; for all she knew he could see her through the akuma, so she had to be clear before transforming. She found the perfect choice, dashing for the stairs up to the library, where she could hide behind stacks of books - when she was suddenly swept off her feet.

“We meet again, little lady,” Cat Noir said, giving Marinette a Cheshire grin. He was carrying her bridal style and racing out through the school’s front doors.

On one level, Marinette was frustrated that her partner was getting in the way of her wrapping up the akuma in record time. Far greater, however, was her surprise, curiosity, and joy at seeing him there.

“Cat Noir? How did you get here so fast?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Doesn't matter. We need to get you out of here, now.”

Marinette would have expected a wink and a smirk, but Cat Noir was focused on his path, swerving into side streets and alleyways. Through his suit she could feel his heart pounding, and she saw sweat on his forehead - but she knew this level of exertion so far was nothing for him. Was he simply that worried about her?

“What about everyone else? If the akuma can't get me it might go for somebody else instead,” said Marinette.

“I’ll worry about them as soon as I've gotten you to safety. Ladybug will be here to help soon enough,” said Cat Noir.

Marinette sighed and held herself against Cat Noir’s chest. She doubted she’d get very far by arguing. It seemed he was most definitely concerned for her specifically, and after what happened with Adrien, she appreciated it.

Eventually they came to stop in a random alleyway. Marinette noticed it was just a few streets away from Adrien’s house.

“Okay. You should be safe here for now, we got a pretty good distance,” Cat Noir said. He turned as though to leave, but suddenly appeared stricken as he turned back to her. “Do you mind if I ask… what happened?”

Marinette hung her head, and Cat Noir tried to reassure her that it didn't matter, but she looked up, shaking her head.

“No, No, it's okay… it's just silly.”

“Nothing that hurts this badly is silly,” Cat Noir said solemnly. Marinette smiled at him.

“Well… Adrien and I broke up,” she said, looking back down at the ground.

He would never say it, but Cat Noir had to admit to himself that it did seem silly, but only because he knew it was never a real relationship. He was beginning to worry that he'd somehow lead Marinette on to believe it might be for real. Regardless, as far as she knew, Cat Noir was clueless about her relationship situation.

“Hold on. Is that the same Adrien that you were pining over?”

Marinette blushed, and shrugged awkwardly. “It’s a long story. But in the end, his dad told him we couldn't go out any more and… it hurt. It hurt that his dad would say that, and it hurt that Adrien would listen to him instead of…”

Marinette trailed off. With Cat Noir believing her relationship with Adrien to be genuine, she felt no need to mention her deeper fear that Adrien would do the same thing to Ladybug. Cat Noir, however, now felt he understood the cause of Marinette's pain, and exactly what he had done.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette…” he said. Then, with a heavy sigh, he added, “I'd better go, in case Ladybug needs my help…”

“Cat Noir… with how she treats you… always rebuffing you… why do you love Ladybug so much?” Marinette asked. Cat Noir looked back at her biting her lip. He stared up into the sky and smiled.

“I know she’s not perfect. Everyone thinks she’s just… totally infallible. Everyone sees me make mistakes all the time - getting captured or controlled or whatever. Never Ladybug. But she’s not flawless. I mean, we first met because she flew through the air and landed on me after she messed up using her yoyo,” he said, chuckling fondly at the memory. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you remember when Hawkmoth first announced himself, and Ladybug totally shut him down and swore we’d always protect Paris?”

Marinette nodded. Her eyes were squinted and her brow furrowed as she watched Cat Noir explain. As both Marinette and Ladybug, she had seen many sides to her partner, but this was something new.

“She inspired me as much as anyone else in the city in that moment. More, even. But just seconds before that, she was doubting she was even the right person to  _ be _ Ladybug. But she stood up to Hawkmoth anyway. That’s why I trust Ladybug with anything… that’s why I love her. Because she’s not perfect, and she’s unsure of herself sometimes, but no matter what she gets up and does the right thing.”

Marinette was grateful Cat Noir was looking up, so he did not see the tears in the corner of her eyes, her mouth open in surprise, or her blush.

“And, well... I like to think I had something to do with her getting a bit of a confidence boost…”

“I'm sure you did,” Marinette laughed, sincerely.

Cat Noir smiled and turned to leave, but once again looked back.

“By the way, I hate to say this, but... Adrien’s a fool for listening to his dad. Any guy would be lucky to be with you.”

“Yeah,” Marinette sighed softly to herself as Cat Noir finally left, “but nobody’s perfect.”

Tikki floated up out of Marinette’s bag.

“I heard most of that and I think I’m up to speed. Are you okay, Marinette?”

Marinette nodded. “It’s all good Tikki. Now, let’s not leave that poor kitty alone for too long. Who knows how he’ll try handling an akuma when he can’t capture it. Tikki, spots on!”

 

* * *

 

Cat Noir had managed to track down the akuma. It hadn’t strayed too far from the school, perching itself on table outside a vacated café. Cat Noir approached the enchanted insect cautiously, crouched low to the ground. As he got closer, he raised a small plastic bin over his head, and as he came within range, he slammed the container down hard on the table.

“Got it!” he cried out triumphantly. He stared down at the bin, and frowned. “Well, now…”

“Full marks for trying, kitty,” Ladybug said, giving him an exaggerated smirk. “But what exactly was your plan here? You know that thing can’t hold an akuma, don’t you?”

The akuma chose that moment to flutter through the bin, and danced through the air towards Ladybug.

“Be careful!” Cat Noir shouted. “It hasn’t akumatised anyone yet!”

“I know,” said Ladybug, simply and calmly. She stared down the bug. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma.”

Ladybug lassoed her yoyo for a moment, before thrusting it forwards and easily capturing the akuma. “Bye bye, little butterfly,” she finished, as the purified butterfly flew away. She turned to Cat Noir for a fist bump.

“Wow, not bad, record time!” Cat Noir said, puffing up his chest proudly. “Despite how late you were to the party!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes and stepped closer towards her partner. “Well it’s a little harder to find out what’s going on when there’s no mass hysteria,” she said, flicking Cat Noir’s bell playfully. “You did a good job on making sure Marinette didn’t get akumatised.”

“Yeah, if we can keep that up, then maybe Hawkmoth will finally see how futile this all is,” he added.

“I saw Marinette on the way here,” Ladybug said, inventing wildly in the spur of the moment. “She told me what happened, and how much you helped her out - and not just with saving her from the akuma.”

"Well, that's... all in a day's work for a hero, you know how it is," Cat Noir said, with almost none of his usual swagger. Ladybug shook her head.

“That was wonderful of you, kitty. Thank you for talking her through it,” she said. She stepped forward, placed a hand on Cat Noir’s shoulder, and pulled herself up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

Cat Noir blushed. It felt ridiculous to feel so good about a simple kiss on the cheek from his literal girlfriend, but there was something extra special about it being meant for Cat Noir for once. He tried to push down the part of himself that felt pleased to have helped Marinette. Obviously he was just glad to have cheered up his friend, that was all.

He shrugged. “Oh, well, you know, I didn’t really… I should probably go get her and bring her back to school.”

“No need,” Ladybug said, before Cat Noir could move out of her grip. “I sent her back to school already. I knew you’d take care of the rest.”

They beamed at each other, and lingered. Eventually, they both remembered that they had a class play to get back to, and they left.

 

* * *

 

“This is unprecedented,” Hawkmoth said, as his observation window closed. “Nobody has ever managed to completely avoid my akuma before. Recovered from their negative emotions, perhaps, but never simply escaped… Dark wings, fall.”

Hawkmoth’s costume fell away, with Nooroo floating off to the side. Gabriel Agreste rearranged his tie.

“Clearly there is more to Miss Dupain-Cheng than meets the eye. It seems we may need to keep a very close eye on her, Nooroo…”

The captured kwami gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cop out? Maybe. But I'm not about to completely derail this fic by trying to answer what happens when a Miraculous holder gets hit by an akuma. Many other fics do that excellently, we have a different focus here ^_^
> 
> So, Anansi. Are we all caught up? [Spoilers ahead, if you've not watched it yet, you're free to go, there's nothing more after this ;)] I just can't believe Adrien is bemoaning not having anyone he's so in sync with like Alya and Nino, in the same scene that he sits in his bedroom looking up at the ceiling so that to outside observers it looks like he's looked up at Marinette. Either way, I am LIVING for these double dates with Adrien facetiming in. So much fic potential there.


	31. Show Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette returns to school. The class finally perform their play.

As she walked back into the school courtyard, Marinette braced herself for what was to come by taking a deep breath.

In one moment, half a dozen pairs of eyes were on her. In the next, half a dozen pairs of arms were clambering to hug her. 

“Marinette! Are you okay?”

“What happened? What upset you?”

“Did the akuma get you?”

“Did Ladybug and Cat Noir save you?”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Guys,” Marinette squeaked out, “I appreciate your concern, but if you don't give me some room I'm going to suffocate!”

The group let up and gave her some space, and Marinette took a deep breath. Before she could explain what happened, however, she was hugged once more.

“Marinette!” Adrien cried, with his arms wrapped around her waist. Marinette’s eyes went wide. Adrien loosened his grip and she turned around in his embrace. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry my father would say such things, but more than that, I’m sorry I listened and gave in to him. I’m on your side, 100%.”

Marinette knew that Adrien was simply trying to make amends and support her as a friend, that he didn't mean anything romantic as their friends were inferring, and that he was simply being deliberately vague because they were listening, but it was hard for her not to hear it the way their friends did. Regardless, she knew that Adrien was indeed completely loyal, and to her nonetheless, and so he was indeed speaking as just a good friend. Even from that perspective, however, it still meant a great deal to Marinette that Adrien would choose to stand by her side against Gabriel.

“Thank you, Adrien. I-” Marinette began, but she was distracted both by the uncomfortable look on Adrien’s face, and by a low level growling coming from behind her.

Their friends, stood behind Marinette, were glaring at Adrien with contempt the likes of which neither Adrien nor Marinette had seen from them before.

“So,  _ you’re _ to blame,” Alya spat, glancing Adrien up and down as though she were seeing him for the first time.

“What?” Marinette and Adrien said together, Marinette laughing, Adrien sounding scared.

“You’d better watch yourself, Agreste,” Ivan hissed.

“I swear, I-” Adrien spluttered.

“Nobody gets away with hurting Marinette,” Rose half-shouted.

“Guys, stop,” Marinette said, beaming round at everyone.

“Nobody,” Nino said, glaring daggers at Adrien.

“N-Nino?” Adrien said, gulping.

“Stop! Everyone, seriously, thank you, but it’s okay. It was just a misunderstanding,” Marinette cried out, loud enough to finally talk over them all. “Adrien and I are- we’re-”

She looked over her shoulder and up at Adrien. She wanted to make sure she didn’t say anything he wasn’t comfortable with.

“We’re together,” Adrien said, firmly and simply. He squeezed Marinette’s shoulder.

“And happy,” she added, when some of the group still seemed unconvinced.

From there everyone was perfectly warm and friendly again. Adrien breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“So, I guess we’re calling the play off then?” Myléne asked. There were many mumbles of agreement.

“Excuse me!?” came the horrified cry of Chloé. She and Sabrina were stood up on the stage, going back over their lines. “I did  _ not _ agree to go through the trauma of dressing up as a donkey monster just so you could all back out at the last minute! Whatever happened to the show must go on!?”

“But, Chloé… we’re supposed to be opening the doors in  _ five minutes _ !” Kim pointed out.

“Exactly. Plenty of time to set up the last few chairs, and for everyone to make sure their costumes are passable,” Chloé said. “Miss Bustier will back me up, right?”

“I don’t know, Chloé,” Miss Bustier said. Marinette wasn’t sure when she had reappeared; hopefully after everyone had stopped threatening Adrien.

“Chloé’s right! Wow, never thought I’d hear myself say that…” Marinette said, quietly to herself. “Let’s do it!”

 

* * *

 

“... Demetrius is a worthy gentleman,” Myléne said, on stage as Theseus, Duke of Athens.

“So is Lysander,” Adrien said, folding his arms petulantly and turned away, facing the audience. He earned a laugh with his pout.

Adrien looked out into the crowd as Myléne recited her next lines. His eyes roamed over the faces of his classmates' friends and family, many of whom he recognised. Once he reached the front row, he had to stifle a gasp as he saw his father in the flesh.

“Hermia?” Marinette called to him, breaking through his stupor.

“I- I’m sorry?” Adrien said. He kept one eye on the audience as he turned back to his classmates. Most of the crowd found his distraction funny, though his father seemed to disagree.

“...But in this kind, wanting your father's voice, the other must be held the worthier,” Myléne said again.

“I -  I would my father look'd but with my eyes,” Adrien said, and he was satisfied to see his father furrow his brow.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the play went off without a hitch. Adrien was able to block his father out until he stood in line with everyone for a final bow. Gabriel was clapping along with all the rest, if not quite as enthusiastically as others in the crowd.

Eventually, everyone filtered out. Many parents and other family members lauded their children, and the whole cast, as they left. Adrien noticed Gabriel waiting behind in his seat; it seemed he wanted to wait until the courtyard was quieter.

Marienette’s parents were highly complimentary. In particular, they both hugged Adrien tightly before asking if Marinette was ready to leave.

“Could you stay? Just a little while?” Adrien asked her quietly. She watched his eyes flick towards Gabriel. His face bore not fear, but fierce determination.

Marinette told her parents to go ahead without her, and that she wouldn’t be long. She waited with Adrien until Gabriel finally stood and approached the stage.

“Father, I-”

“Wait, Adrien, please, let me speak,” Gabriel said, holding up a hand to quieten his son. Marinette frowned. “It seems I may have misjudged both Miss Dupain-Cheng, and the impact she and your relationship have been having on your studies. I spoke with Miss Bustier earlier in the evening. While it is true that your extra-curricular achievement has suffered, it seems you are exceeding in your school work. In addition, barring a few moments early on, your performance tonight was excellent. Therefore, it is my belief that your decreased success elsewhere is not due to Miss Dupain-Cheng’s presence in your life, but in fact, her absence.”

Adrien frowned, and looked at Marinette, who looked as confused as he felt. “What are you saying, father?”

“I am saying that, if you are agreeable, Miss- Marinette, that I would like for you to spend more time with Adrien, and join him in his extra-curricular classes,” Gabriel explained.

“What!?” Adrien and Marinette cried out together.

“As I understand it, you were interested in joining Adrien’s fencing team, and performed admirably in tryouts?” Gabriel said, directly addressing Marinette.

“Um - yeah, but there weren’t enough spots on the team,” Marinette said.

“There will be now. And would you be interested in joining Adrien for his Chinese lessons?”

“Actually, yeah,” Marinette said, recalling her past attempts at embracing her maternal heritage. “But I have other commitments to keep, too… helping my parents in the bakery, and…”

“Very well. Then we shall refrain from having you join Adrien for his piano lessons. Adrien, you shall just have to cope without Marinette for some periods of the week. And I shall lighten your workload overall to better accommodate this, as Marinette has clearly proven to be such a positive influence on you. Are we all in agreement?” Gabriel asked.

Adrien was stunned. This was so far removed from anything he had ever expected from his father that he had no idea how to react. He had been fully prepared to stand up to his father.

“I… um…” he stammered. “I was… going to…”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Very well,” he sighed. He continued with heavy sarcasm, “No, Adrien, you are forbidden from courting Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

As obviously phony as it was, this restored Adrien’s confidence.

“No, father! I won’t listen to you, you can’t tell me who I can or can’t date!”

“Very well. I concede. Adrien, I shall see you in the car. Good evening, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Gabriel said, bowing his head to Marinette before he left.

“I have no idea what just happened,” Adrien said dazedly. Marinette giggled.

“Thanks for sticking up for me, Adrien. Even if you didn’t really have to. That was sweet,” Marinette said.

For the second time that day, Marinette placed her hand on Adrien’s shoulder so that she could pull herself up onto her toes and kiss him on the cheek. They both blushed lightly as Marinette waved to Adrien, and ran off home.

Adrien gulped. There was no denying it this time. As much as he had tried to fight against it, he could not ignore his feelings, even when it meant acknowledging that Marinette kissing Adrien on the cheek meant just as much to him as Ladybug kissing Cat Noir’s cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OoooOOOOooooh!
> 
> I've tried having various upload times, but I think it's become clear the best upload time will always be Monday evening (UST). That'll help me to ensure regular chapters, as well. So look forward to these two idiots trying to process their absurd mess of emotions same time next week :D
> 
> So... how about that Frozer trailer, huh?


	32. Some Kind of Love Square

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Adrien talk about creative outlets, the fake relationship, who they're crushing on, and- wait, what?

Ladybug was swinging above the streets of Paris and feeling good; she was on her way to see Adrien, who had shown himself willing to stand up to his father for Marinette. The school play had gone well, and Chloé had even apologised for her behaviour, and accepted the idea that Marinette and Adrien were a couple. And the fight against Hawkmoth was going better than ever, with the last akuma getting stopped before it could evilise anyone, thanks to Cat Noir rushing in to save her, and comfort her, and it was surprising just how nice and comfortable it had felt to kiss-

Her grip on her yoyo string slipped and Ladybug fell several feet. As she balanced herself again, her rope slowed to a standstill, and she span around a little in the air.

It was not the first time since the akuma attack that Ladybug had found herself thinking about her partner in that way. In fact, being completely honest with herself, she realised that she had had similar thoughts on occasion for quite some time before she had been targeted by Hawkmoth. She sighed; she could not carry on like this. She had to talk to Adrien.

 

* * *

 

As Ladybug approached Adrien’s window, a soft melody called through the open window. She dropped inside with a smile on her face directed at Adrien as he played the piano. She recognised the piece he was playing. He looked up and returned the smile as he wrapped it up. Ladybug clapped, and Adrien stood to take a bow.

“Was that-?” Ladybug said curiously, tilting her head.

“The piece Jagged Stone wrote and dedicated to you,” Adrien said. He was looking away and scratching his neck, grinning sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d heard it. I don’t think he’s released it on an album yet. I’m pretty good at playing, but, uh… not the most creative.”

Ladybug pouted. “Don't sell yourself short, Adrien. Maybe you don't write music, but I don't believe that you don't have a creative mind. Everyone has different talents.”

Adrien looked away, and Ladybug could see him blushing deeply, with a small, shy smile on his lips. Ladybug tried to meet his eyes and prompt him to speak.

“Well… I guess… I try to… write poetry,” he mumbled, refusing to look up. Ladybug felt her heart swoop.

“Oh… oh, really?” she said, trying to play it cool. “Could I, um… hear some?”

“Oh, you really don’t want to waste your time,” Adrien said, forcing a laugh. “Honestly, it’s not good, it’s so cheesy and clichéd and…”

Adrien stopped rambling as he felt Ladybug’s hand on his. He met her wide eyes. “Please,” she whispered.

Adrien crossed the room to rummage through his desk drawers. He pulled out a notebook, moved to the centre of the room, and cleared his throat. Ladybug perched on the end of Adrien’s bed, leaning forwards slightly.

“I may not know your true name   
When off your mask you take   
But now I know your true heart   
And how it makes mine ache

“There is so much more to you   
Than the world gets to see   
And now my life is lighter   
Because you share with me

“Although I love you truly   
Still I hope that maybe   
Some day I'll see behind your mask   
My one, my true, my... baby…”

Adrien hesitated as he finished reciting, somewhat mumbling his final line. He had had to think fast on his feet while reading as he realised he had ended this particular poem with “my lady”. As if he hadn’t felt embarrassed enough reading the poem at all, the lame substitution, with such an ill-fitting nickname that neither had ever used before had him wanting to curl into a ball and hide. Instead, he shook his head and groaned.

“I’m sorry, that was… just… I’m gonna go throw-”

He stopped as he felt Ladybug’s hand on his cheek. She was stood beside him, turning his face to hers. She was beaming, and her eyes were brimming with tears threatening to spill at any moment. Adrien was suddenly having a hard time drawing breath, made all the harder when, moments later, Ladybug kissed him.

 

* * *

 

“So,” Ladybug asked later. She grinned. “How are things going with your other girlfriend?”

She felt a little guilty, giving him a question more heavily loaded than he could possibly know. But Adrien knew Ladybug had gotten involved to help Marinette, so she knew he would be expecting her to ask. If, along the way, she got some insight into how Adrien had been thinking throughout everything, then so be it.

Groaning, Adrien flopped back on his bed and covered his face with his hands. “It’s such a mess… well… I guess you know what happened…”

“Partly,” she said truthfully.

And Adrien explained in full about the dinner with his father, what his father had said, and what he then told Marinette that lead to Hawkmoth targeting her.

“And I guess I just didn't think about what impact that would have on her. Marinette looks up to my father as a designer. And… well… she probably would have hoped that I'd stand by her, stick up for her, as her friend,” he sighed, leaning his head on Ladybug’s shoulder dejectedly. He then suddenly sat bolt upright and spoke with urgency, as though to justify his actions. “But I just thought it would be the easiest way to not have to worry about the fake relationship any more.”

Adrien chuckled to himself and shook his head. “And now it looks like we're more closely together than ever. So it's kind of all a big mess.”

Now Ladybug fully understood where Adrien stood. Gone was her belief - her hope - in the chance that Adrien might, in fact, have had some real feelings for Marinette. Her head felt like such a tangled mess, and if Adrien felt muddled, what hope did she have? She had to say something.

“So. Don't freak out,” Ladybug said, which of course made Adrien perk up, staring at her with wide eyes. The effect was enough to make Ladybug laugh. “I'm serious, everything is fine. Nothing's going to change, I love you, I just… need to tell you something.”

Adrien braced himself. He couldn't imagine what Ladybug could possibly have to tell him that required such a preamble. A tiny corner of his mind was daring to hope that she might be about to tell him her real name. But there was no way, she wouldn't…

“Okay, here goes,” she said. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and screwed up her face. “I… kind of… have a crush on someone. Besides you.”

Adrien’s mind took a thousand different parallel tracks all at once over the next second. His life was over, his Lady loved another, she was leaving him for some muscular supergenius who spent all his free time volunteering to help sick puppies. That she had said she loved him and that nothing would change was clearly irrelevant, not to mention the fact that he was feeling…

No, no. He was being absurd. And hypocritical. He had to listen to what Ladybug was actually saying, and respect that. Especially so considering how utterly ridiculous the whole situation was. So much so that he snorted with laughter almost immediately.

“That's… not quite the reaction I expected,” Ladybug said, staring at Adrien in alarm. She had been terrified beyond belief of crushing Adrien and breaking his heart.

“I'm sorry, Lovebug,” he said, taking a breath to regain his composure. He shortly became much more solemn. “It’s just… I… also… sorta have a crush on someone.”

In the proceeding eighth of a second, Adrien saw in Ladybug's eyes flashes of the exact same string of emotions he had just gone through. As such, he was less surprised when she burst out laughing. They both laid back on the bed and collapsed into fits of giggles.

“Wow,” Ladybug said eventually wiping away a mirthful tear. “How much of a mess are we?”

“Are we… is everything… is this okay?” Adrien asked, curling up next to Ladybug. She met his eyes, staring up at her pleadingly. She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled.

“Of course it’s okay, pretty boy. I love you. I’m not planning on… on acting on this or anything. Are you?” she asked.

“Of course not! I love you!” he cried indignantly. Ladybug smiled.

“And that’s what’s important. I don’t think it’s a big deal to get little crushes on people, especially people who are important to us. What matters is what we do, how we act,” Ladybug said.

“That reminds me of something Marinette said in class a while back,” Adrien said. Ladybug tensed. “She said… love isn’t like a crush. It’s a promise. It’s dedication.”

Ladybug remembered the moment, and remembered Adrien staring at her as she had said it. Even so, she was blown away that Adrien had taken what she’d said to heart strongly enough to memorise it.

“And that’s what we have,” Adrien added, squeezing Ladybug's hand. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. 

“Okay. Let’s… let's not keep more secrets than we have to; we'll both say who it is we - you know - on three, deal?”

“Deal.”

“Three,” they began together. “Two. One.”

“Marinette.”

“Cat Noir.”

Time froze. It was New Years and fireworks were lighting up the whole world. There was absolutely no possible way they had just said that name…

_ He likes me!? He likes  _ me _!? After everything that's happened… after he just explained that he stood up for me as a  _ friend _ … if this had happened months ago we could be a normal couple together! _

_ My Lady… you… you like me… but… why? Why now? Why like this? _

Eventually, Adrien chuckled. “So… you're telling me not to worry about your superpowered crime-fighting teammate? I mean, aren't you guys destined to be together or something?”

“What!? No! Ew! What!?” Ladybug cried out. She shuddered and looked as though she'd licked a toad. “And even if that was the case… I make my own destiny! And I choose you!”

She shook her head. A wicked smirk crossed her face.

“Well what about you? You like your fake girlfriend, who you just performed a romantic play with, and who you just quoted talking about the meaning of love!” she said, fit to burst with giggles.

“Yeah… and I know she likes me too,” Adrien sighed.

Ladybug squeaked. “Oh… she does?”

“Don’t worry! It doesn’t change anything,” Adrien said reassuringly. “Because, yeah, so I just quoted her, but that’s exactly it. Love is a choice, and a commitment, and I choose you. Nobody else. The reason I remember her saying that is because it perfectly describes how I feel about you.”

“Even though you could have it so much easier?” Ladybug asked. She wasn’t concerned about not being with Adrien, of course. If anything she simply felt tired considering the idea that she and Adrien could just have a normal relationship.

“I knew this would be hard going in. I knew we wouldn’t get to see each other as much as we’d like, and that I could have things so much easier if I dated someone I know in my normal day-to-day life. But I don’t care. I love you, Lovebug. I’m sticking with you, no matter what,” Adrien said, grasping Ladybug’s hands tightly.

Ladybug smiled, then shook her head. “You, me, Cat Noir, Marinette… This is all so messy. We wouldn’t have to worry about them if we just… set them up.”

The tension was thick. Every fibre of Ladybug’s being was screaming at her. Fortunately, Adrien couldn’t hear what surely should have been a deafening racket, but he was too busy trying not to burst into flames.

_ Did she just suggest setting Marinette up… with me!? _

_ Did I just say we should set Cat Noir up… with me!? _

“On second thought, forget I said anything…”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best…”

They looked at each other, and once more fell into fits of giggles, this time lasting for most of the evening. Both were content in the knowledge that the other cared for them on either side of their mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You just know Plagg is watching this all unfold and headbutting something very hard in frustration.


	33. Pink Macarons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien adjust to their new status quo. They're also idiots, but what's new?

Over the next few weeks, Ladybug and Adrien enjoyed a relative calm. Marinette, on her parents’ orders, begrudgingly invited Adrien to dinner to “formally" meet them. Adrien was more than happy to agree, and now he could even easily get his father’s approval to go.

 

* * *

 

Adrien wore the same suit he had worn when Marinette had come for dinner with his father. As soon as Marinette opened the door to invite him in, wearing the same clothes she regularly wore to school, he realised how embarrassingly overdressed he was.

“Gah,” was all he fearfully managed to get out. Marinette curled her lips inwards between her teeth, her silent laughter evident.

“Oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry, I should have warned you not to do anything special,” Marinette said, stifling giggles all the while.

“Oh… what? This old thing? Oh, this is nothing, just pretty typical loungewear at my house…” Adrien said. Marinette beamed, and even rolled her eyes at him.

“Well hello, Adrien, come in! Aren’t you looking sharp!” Sabine said, approaching with Tom right behind her. They were still wearing their aprons from the bakery, covered in flour.

As Marinette’s father walked up to him, Adrien was struck by how large a person Tom Dupain was. Adrien had met him when visiting Marinette, in baking classes at school, and several more times besides as Cat Noir. Mr Dupain had always come across as warm and friendly, but as he squared up to Adrien and glared down at him, Adrien found him unexpectedly intimidating.

Marinette watched her father as he walked up to Adrien and began pouting aggressively. She groaned and hid her face in her hands. She knew exactly what was coming, and she did not want to see Adrien gallantly attempt to not crack a smile, let alone burst into laughter.

“So,” Tom’s voice boomed into Adrien’s ears, “what exactly are your intentions with my daughter?”

Now Marinette heard her mother groan alongside her, too. Adrien, on the other hand was spluttering.

“I- my- I- my- I-”

He was stuck in a nervous loop. Marinette rushed to his side as Sabine scolded her husband.

Tom was utterly mortified. “It was just a little joke! Adrien, I’m so sorry, are you all right?” he asked. He knelt, in order to be on Adrien’s eye level.

The hand on Adrien’s forearm seemed to snap Adrien out of it. He even managed to laugh.

“Sorry about that. I just would hate for you to think anything untoward of me. I-” He paused, and turned to smile at Marinette. “I care deeply for Marinette. I only want the best for her… Mr Dupain.”

Adrien turned back to Tom just in time to miss Marinette’s blush. Tom smiled warmly.

“Call me Tom,” he said simply.

“Now, if you’re done bullying the poor boy, Tom, let’s go eat and put some meat on those bones!” Sabine cried, ushering everyone towards the table.

 

* * *

 

Indeed, Adrien soon found himself at Marinette’s house more and more. Whether it was picking her up for a class, dropping her off after, or simply hanging out with Marinette, Adrien was spending a lot of his free time at 12 Rue Gotlib.

 

* * *

 

Marinette entered the bakery one Saturday lunchtime a little later than she had intended. She had met up with the girls that morning, but knew her parents would want her around to help out during the lunch rush. When she entered the bakery, however, she found that while it was clearly busy, everything was orderly and under control, despite her absence.

“Excuse me, coming thr- oh, hey Marinette!”

Adrien beamed at her, but didn't stop what he was doing. He was clad in an apron and carrying a tray laden with fresh buns. He stepped past Marinette and began setting out the buns on display.

“Adrien, what are you doing here?” Marinette asked, both amused and bemused.

“Oh, well, I was coming to meet you for our, uh, lunch date, and the bakery was really busy, your parents were swamped. So I figured I'd just lend a hand while I waited for you to get back. Sorry, Marinette, I just need to-” Adrien said as he stepped away towards the back. He had cleared his tray, and as he made his way out of the shop front he called out, “Looks like we need another batch of macarons, Tom!”

Marinette followed Adrien past the customers and behind the counter, and saw her father busy working away to keep up with demand. “More macarons, check. Thanks, Adrien!”

Tom went into the storeroom, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone at the back of the shop. Marinette was close to bursting out laughing.

“I meant what are you doing  _ here _ , Adrien. You know,” Marinette glanced past Adrien to make sure they were definitely alone. She spoke more quietly as she continued. “Our date today was a cover for your  _ real  _ date with your  _ real  _ girlfriend because Nino wanted to hang out with you.”

Adrien’s eyes went wide, but then he laughed. “Oops. Guess I’m getting a bit messed up over which dates are really us hanging out and which are only pretend!”

Marinette just stared at Adrien for a moment as he simply stood there. “So...shouldn’t you be… you know, going? You’re going to be late!”

Adrien frowned, and checked his watch. Then he remembered he was a teenager with a phone so he didn’t wear a watch. He sighed, shrugged, and smiled.

“There’s only like half an hour left on the lunch rush, and I’m not supposed to meet her for an hour. Maybe I’ll be a few minutes late, but I can’t just abandon your parents right in the middle of everything,” Adrien said, a little more quietly as Tom reappeared.

“Ah, looks like the next batch of croissants are ready to go out,” Tom said, pulled a tray out of the oven and sniffing the golden pastries.

“I’m on it,” Adrien said. He had tongs ready to move the croissants onto a carrying tray. As a quiet aside to Marinette, he added, “Maybe I'll get her something nice from here as an apology…”

Before Adrien could get back to work, Marinette grabbed his arm. “Pink macarons. Trust me on this,” she said, winking. Adrien smiled, before finally heading back into the fray.

Marinette knew she should grab an apron and start helping, but she was putting all of her energy into not swooning.

 

* * *

 

Hawkmoth, however, had rudely not taken their new busy schedule into account, and so a slew of new akumatised villains continued to bear down on Paris. Fortunately, Ladybug and Cat Noir were more in sync than ever before, so the attacks were taking up less of their time than usual. Neither seemed to notice that they were much more likely to turn up for a fight at the same time than they had been previously.

 

* * *

 

The familiar sounds of terrified screaming and property damage came to Marinette and Adrien in the middle of fencing class one afternoon. Thanks to their fencing masks, they were able to easily blend into the crowd of their fleeing classmates. Marinette found solace in the bathroom, while Adrien found the locker room completely empty, allowing him to get into his locker before pouncing into battle.

 

* * *

 

Standing on a rooftop after a well-fought battle, Ladybug and Cat Noir bumped fists.

Cat Noir called out “Pound it!” but Ladybug's cry was more of a yawn. Cat Noir grinned. “Careful, my lady, or they'll start calling you Lazybug!”

“Booooo,” she groaned, grinning back. “Sorry, I've just been a lot busier lately.”

“I’ve noticed. And you already worked so hard before. Wait here,” Cat Noir said sincerely. He dashed over to the chimney, and picked up a box he'd hidden there at the start of the fight. He was sure that it had been crushed at one point, but thanks to the blessed power of the Miraculous it had been restored. He took it back and held it out to Ladybug. “Here. This is just… something to give you an energy boost when you need it.”

Ladybug blinked and took the box from him. It was a pastry box from Boulangerie Patisserie. She opened it and found a dozen pink macarons. Exactly what she'd suggested Adrien get for his real girlfriend, who was, of course, actually herself.

What a weird coincidence.

“Thank you, kitty! That-” she began, but she was interrupted by each Miraculous beeping a final warning. Cat Noir nodded to her, and they both smiled. “Well, thank you. Bug out!”

The heroes made to leave, running together to the edge of the roof. They turned and looked at each other in alarm.

“Oh! Oh, you were gonna go this way too, huh?” Cat Noir chuckled. “Awkward. Well…”

He stepped backwards and fell down from the roof. Ladybug rolled her eyes, and jumped off the opposite edge, landing down in a side street opposite the school, just as she transformed back.

“That sure was thoughtful of Cat Noir,” Tikki said as she emerged from the Miraculous.

“Tell me about it,” Marinette said. “I can’t believe he managed to get my favourite!”

“Mmm, and mine!” Tikki said. Marinette giggled and held the box open.

“Knock yourself out, Tikki,” she said. Tikki grabbed a macaron and took it with her to Marinette’s bag. Marinette grabbed one herself, before closing the box and heading back to the school.

It was as Marinette was approaching the school steps that she realised Adrien was also heading towards them from the opposite direction. His face brightened as he saw her, and he rushed up to her.

“Marinette! You’re safe. You, uh… managed to find somewhere safe to hide?” Adrien asked.

“Oh, yeah, I… I actually just went home and waited to hear on the news that the coast was clear,” Marinette invented wildly. She’d have to make sure that this didn’t come up next time Adrien came over.

“Smart plan,” Adrien said. His eyes flitted down to the box in her hands. He laughed as he added “And you could get a snack too!”

“Oh! Yeah,” Marinette said, chuckling nervously. “I… thought maybe after the attack people could maybe do with a pick-me-up… want one?”

Marinette held open the box to Adrien. He was surprised to see the rows of pink macarons, exactly the same as the box he had just given to Ladybug only a few moments ago.

What a weird coincidence.

“Wow, thank you Marinette! You’re always so thoughtful,” he said with a fond smile. He took one of the macarons. With a wink, he said, “You know, I’ve heard good things about these...”

 

* * *

 

With their new schedule of classes together, helping out at the bakery, fake dates to maintain appearances, and simply spending time together with their friends, Marinette and Adrien were kept plenty busy. With more victims always getting akumatised, Ladybug and Cat Noir had another large chunk of time used up. Despite that, Ladybug and Adrien still managed to find time to be together.

 

* * *

 

Adrien raced into the house and up the stairs to his room. Ladybug was due to arrive at any moment. There was a chance she’d be late, as they had just fought another battle together, but she had hinted to Cat Noir about having plans that evening. Adrien was slower back than he might normally have been. He had spent the morning helping Marinette and her parents at the bakery, which at some point had become part of his regular weekend routine. He’d had to leave earlier than he’d have liked, however, as he’d had a photoshoot to attend that he’d forgotten about - a photoshoot that was then interrupted by an akuma attack.

All in all, he was utterly exhausted. But Ladybug deserved the best of him, so no matter what, he would ensure that their time together would be perfect.

After opening his bedroom window, he crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed. Ladybug swung in only a few minutes later. Her landing was less than graceful, and she stumbled across the room, collapsing next to Adrien on the bed and laying face down.

“Ladybug! Are you all right?” Adrien asked, placing a hand on Ladybug’s shoulder.

Ladybug groaned, and sat up. “I’m fine. I’m sorry, Adrien. I’m sure there are a million things you want to do. I’m just… so tired.”

Adrien sighed and smiled. He had been worried that Ladybug would try to hide her tiredness from him as Adrien, when he had seen it clear as day as Cat Noir. His best guess was that she just didn’t want to worry him, and, apparently, disappoint him.

“Me too, Lovebug. You have nothing to apologise for. I’m exhausted,” Adrien said. He fell back to lay on the bed, and pulled Ladybug with him. “What if, today… we didn’t do anything.”

Ladybug cuddled up besides Adrien, and looked up at him, beaming. “That sounds… perfect.”

Life over the past few weeks had become extremely busy for the pair. But through it all, no matter what, and no matter in what form, when they were together, they were happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some cute bits in their daily lives, because we're nearing the end of the journey! Enough so that I feel confident in estimating how many chapters we have left. It should be 4, though two of those might get pushed together as one super long chapter, or I might end up with more to include than I thought - this chapter and the next were originally going to be one chapter, but this came out much longer than expected.
> 
> These two are my precious children, they are so sweet and good, and they're so tired, but MAN are they dumb.


	34. Oops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino see Adrien's emails from Ladybug. They are less than thrilled.

One of the biggest advantages of his fake relationship with Marinette was that his father had allowed Adrien to have friends over fairly regularly. Frankly, Adrien found it bewildering that he hadn't always been allowed his friends to visit, so he wouldn't need to go into the wide, scary, shark-infested world. Adrien wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, however.

“Wow, dude, you really do suck at this, huh?”

It felt so nice to be able to spend quality time with his best friends.

“Nino, don’t be a jerk,” Alya said, smacking her boyfriend’s arm. He playfully shoved her back, and it soon became hard to tell whether they were wrestling or cuddling.

Marinette, Alya, and Nino were over, and the group had decided to play video games, starting, of course, with Mecha Strike. Initially, they had played girls against boys, and it had been a pretty fair matchup. After a few games they switched it up, and Marinette played with Nino versus “the A Team”. Eventually, Alya and Nino reluctantly agreed to play couple against couple. They were, predictably, pulverised.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, don’t sweat it guys,” Adrien said as he set down his controller. He leaned back in his seat and casually draped his arm around Marinette’s shoulder. “You guys are great, for sure, but it’s rare for a couple to be as in sync as Marinette and I are.”

Nino pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, but kept smiling. Alya chuckled. Marinette’s eyes went wide and her face pale, like she’d seen a ghost. Or was about to.

“You sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that the two of you are demonstrably the best players of this game in all of Paris?” Nino suggested.

“You really wanna make this about how good of a couple we are?” Alya asked. She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows at Adrien, but smiled confidently.

“For the record, I am saying nothing of the sort!” Marinette said. She raised her hands above her head and bit back her laughter.

Adrien leapt to his feet and fist pumped. “Marinette and I can take on anything! Name your challenge!”

Nino and Alya contemplated, looking around the room. Eventually, Alya gasped, and directed Nino’s eyes to Adrien’s dance machines. The couple grinned broadly.

 

* * *

 

And so it was that ten minutes later, Marinette and Adrien were working up a sweat in their attempt to match Alya and Nino’s score.

“Alya,” Nino eventually said, between deep breaths as Alya released him from her pin hold, “they did a victory dance for four minutes!  _ Four minutes! _ If they wanna dance, then we can dance.”

“Just you watch, Nino, we’ll get the hang of this. And then we’ll stomp you at this too!” Adrien cried out. His distraction cost him significant points.

Nino looked at Alya over the top of his glasses, raising his eyebrows. Alya pursed her lips, but then grinned.

“Well, I suppose it’s worth pointing out that Adrien is currently doing worse at this than Marinette - and she’s not exactly the queen of coordination,” Alya said. She poked her tongue out at Marinette when the latter looked back over her shoulder.

“I honestly think Adrien might have gotten a  _ better  _ score when he was playing through a video call!” Nino said, outright cackling at the pair.

Marinette stopped on her machine, turning to glare at Nino. She shook her head, and turned to Adrien. “You know, Adrien, who cares what anybody else thinks, we don’t need them to have fun. May I have this dance?”

Marinette held out her hand to Adrien. He grinned broadly as he took it, and they began swaying together, rotating around both of their platforms, giggling wildly. Dancing together and ignoring the instructions given on screen did nothing to impact their scores in the game - in fact...

“Hold up, they’re not even paying attention any more, how are their scores getting  _ better _ !?” Nino said.

Alya shrugged, then nudged Nino in the side. “Maybe Adrien was right, and they’re just more in sync than us.” Nino frowned at her.

“Okay, but real talk, how adorable are they right now?” Alya muttered, leaning towards Nino. Marinette and Adrien were in the midst of a mix of a waltz, a foxtrot, and the macarena. “They are definitely gonna want to watch this later.”

“I’m on it, I’ll record it for Adrien,” Nino whispered back. He jumped up and walked over to Adrien’s desk. Adrien’s phone was there, and Nino had long since known Adrien’s pin to unlock it - the date of his first day at school - so he could record the video on Adrien’s behalf.

As the screen unlocked and Adrien’s wallpaper of the four of them together came into view, Nino noticed a message notification. He called over to Adrien, but Adrien and Marinette were too busy laughing at their absurd dance to hear. Nino tried to ignore it, but couldn’t help but noticed what the first few words of the message said. At that point, he felt like he had no choice but to read it.

“Uh… Adrien… ADRIEN!” Nino shouted, finally getting Adrien and Marinette’s attention. They stopped their dance and stepped away from the now silent machine. Nino took a deep breath. “So you wanna explain what’s up with these messages you’re getting? ‘ _ Can’t wait to see you again. I miss you so much. Love you, Pretty Boy.’ _ What’s going on, dude?”

Alya stood up, and snatched Adrien’s phone from Nino’s hand to read it. Nino was looking at Adrien like a bull at a matador. Both Adrien and Marinette went pale, mentally kicking themselves. Adrien was mad at himself for not checking and clearing his messages before his friends arrived. Marinette was mad at herself for sending the message at all - true, Adrien didn’t know he was about to see her, but he would have been just fine waiting until she was due to see him later that night.

“There’s a whole bunch of these, going back and forth, for months!” Alya cried, scrolling through Adrien’s inbox. “Adrien… are you… are you  _ cheating on Marinette _ !?”

Both Marinette and Adrien were completely frozen. Marinette was trying to think of a way she could explain away these emails, especially since as far as Adrien was concerned she didn’t actually know anything much about them. Adrien was trying to think of what he’d say to Ladybug when she inevitably broke up with him for blowing their cover.

“Uhh…”

“Oh no, that is it! Alya, hold me back!” Nino cried, visibly shaking.

Alya could not hold Nino back, however, as she had already stomped towards Adrien looking utterly fearsome. She raised her fist, and Adrien pelted away from her, dashing around the room. Alya gave chase. On the far side of the room, Adrien crawled his way up his climbing wall like a spider, and Alya growled.

“Get down here, Agreste! Explain yourself!” she hissed. Nino now stood by her side, cracking his knuckles.

Marinette had no choice, she’d deal with the fallout with Adrien later.

“Guys, stop, please, it’s okay, those emails-”

“Marinette’s not really my girlfriend!”

Silence filled the room. All eyes were locked on Adrien. Marinette facepalmed.

“Dang it, Adrien! I was just going to say that the emails were all from me!” she sighed.

“Oh. Yeah, that probably would have been good too. In my defence, I was staring into the jaws of death here!” Adrien chuckled.

“Hold up, are you being serious? What’s going on here?” Nino asked.

“I’ll come down to explain, but only if Alya stops looking at me like I just kicked a puppy,” Adrien said. Alya closed her eyes and moved to sit down.

 

* * *

 

Once Adrien had returned to the floor, he and Marinette explained everything; about how Adrien had confided in Marinette about being in a relationship that he couldn’t be public about, but he needed to share with somebody-

“You told Marinette over me?” Nino said, his voice cracking.

“I didn’t want you to have to keep it from Alya,” Adrien said pleadingly.

“To be honest, it’d hurt less if Nino had hidden  _ this _ from me than Marinette. No offence, babe,” Alya said, placing a hand on Nino’s arm.

“No, it’s cool, I get it,” her boyfriend said.

-and how at the sleepover he just hadn’t wanted to kiss anyone else, so Marinette made up the cover story so he wouldn’t have to.

“But how come you kept it going? It’s been like a month, why do you need to keep up the act?” Alya asked.

“Well… Adrien’s father would probably start asking awkward questions if we broke up so soon. He’s become… very supportive of us,” Marinette explained.

“Right! But he wanted you to break up, right? You told me, when we were doing the play, and you were really upset that your dad was making you do it!” Nino said to Adrien.

This part Marinette did not know. She looked at Adrien in alarm.

“Well, yeah, just because I’m sick of him not letting me have my freedom,” Adrien said, after a pause that lasted a moment too long to entirely convince Alya or Nino.

“That’s another thing! That was when Marinette almost got akumatised! So what really got you that upset, Marinette?” Nino asked.

Both Marinette and Adrien looked away from the group uncomfortably. Alya jumped in to spare them that particular explanation.

“So, the real question here is, who are you actually dating?” she said, with a dangerous twinkle in her eye She stood up and began to pace around the circle. “You said you had to keep it secret for protection, but it wasn’t an issue for people to think you were dating Marinette…”

“Alya…” Marinette said, a slow warning.

“...That must mean it’s someone more famous than you, someone more likely to be targeted or endanger you and  _ no freaking way _ you’re totally dating Ladybug, aren’t you!?” Alya cried out in wondrous excitement.

Adrien and Marinette were too dumbfounded by Alya’s deductive reasoning to be able to come up with any further cover-up. Adrien nodded.

“Whoa, dude, that’s awesome!” Nino said, offering Adrien a high-five Adrien accepted somewhat hesitantly.

“This is amazing! It’s - it’s-” Alya said, but then she slumped down into her chair. “It’s the biggest scoop since Rena Rouge showed up and I can’t say  _ anything  _ about it…”

“Hey, what about Carapace?” Nino pouted, too quietly for anyone to hear.

Adrien smiled. “Thanks, Alya.” Alya rolled her eyes and nodded.

“Did you know about this?” she asked Marinette.

“Uh… Adrien never told me his girlfriend was Ladybug…” Marinette said, taking particular care with her choice of words.

“Okay, but now you  _ have _ to tell us how it happened!” Nino said.

As Adrien began giving yet another recount, Alya pulled Marinette to one side.

“Girl, are you absolutely sure you’re okay with this?”

Marinette smiled and nodded. She looked over at Adrien, radiating pure joy as told his story.

“Absolutely. Would I rather Adrien actually wanted to date me? Of course. But I just want him to be happy, and I want to help him with that however I can. Seeing Adrien happy makes me happy.”

Alya shook her head. “You are too much, M. Adrien doesn’t know what he’s missing. I can’t believe Adrien has settled for Ladybug, when he could have you.”

The girls giggled and hugged, before returning to hear the rest of Adrien’s story.

“Well… sorry we jumped to conclusions dude,” Nino said. He shook his head. “I mean, I never would have thought in a million years that you’d actually-”

“No, you have nothing to be sorry for, it’s a pretty ridiculous situation,” Adrien said. He placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “But the truth is… Marinette and I are just friends.”

The four looked up in alarm as they heard what sounded like two utterly exasperated groans coming down from the balcony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just friends! That's your cue if you're playing the drinking game at home!
> 
> Maybe things went too far back when Marinette almost got akumatised, but I don't think Alya and Nino are overreacting here. No tolerance for cheating. But all's well that ends well...
> 
> So much happening with this show lately! Whether or not you've got a comment about the chapter itself, come talk to me about The Queen's Battle trilogy and Frozer down in the comments! :D


	35. Mayhem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new ad featuring Adrien has just come out. He hates it, but his number 1 fan hates it much, much more.

Adrien: Good news. I will now be free to spend every waking moment with you, should you so wish.

Adrien: Bad news. This is because I have decided to become a hermit and will never be leaving my room again.

Marinette rolled her eyes and giggled to herself as she read over the emails. She knew why Adrien wanted to quarantine himself; his latest ad campaign had just released. He had mentioned it a few times recently, and sounded unhappy about it every time, but he had kept shrugging it off as a problem for the future. Except now it was the future, and it was apparently a problem.

Marinette had not yet seen anything from the campaign. Before receiving those emails, she had in fact forgotten it was coming out. She smiled, feeling proud of herself for how far she had come from being Adrien's number 1 ~~stalker~~ fan. Then her smile became a frown; Adrien had texted her that morning to say he was sick, and he hadn’t come in to school.

Marinette excused herself from lunch with Alya and Nino. She felt she should probably go to investigate and find out how bad these pictures could possibly be.

 

* * *

 

When her laughter eventually subsided, Ladybug gasped out, “Those might just be the worst pictures I’ve ever seen.”

“My father felt that it was time to ditch the “pure and innocent angle” and switch to a more… _edgy_ style,” Adrien groaned, pressing his face into his pillow.

Ladybug bit her lip to say anything, merely gazing in abject horror at the new ad, newly released on billboards and magazine racks all across Paris.

Adrien’s hair was slathered in gel in order to force it up into jagged spikes, sprayed purple. He was wearing a leather jacket with the sleeves artfully torn off, and faded purple jeans.

“Maybe you could pass it off as an homage to Jagged Stone?” Ladybug said, unable to hold back a snort of laughter. The look simply did not fit Adrien, with his soft, adorable face.

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life in this room, Ladybug. I mean it. How could I ever possibly go out into the real world and face this?”

“But if you stay here, you’ll never get to go and see Marinette again. Now, remind me, is she your girlfriend or not?” Ladybug asked, smirking. She knew it was unfair to tease Adrien about Alya and Nino finding out about them, but it was just too fun.

“Why must you kick me when I’m down,” Adrien moaned.

Ladybug shook her head, and moved to sit by Adrien. She stroked his hair, smiling down at him.

“Well don’t you worry. I’m not going anywhere. As long as you’re stuck here, I’ll stay with you.”

Adrien looked up at her with babydoll eyes. “Even though you’ve seen me looking like  _ that _ ? Not exactly a pretty boy in those pictures.”

Ladybug laughed, and placed her hand on Adrien’s face. “Yes, Adrien. I will always love you, in spite of however you look. In fact,” she said, but she paused and bit her lip. For a moment she worried that to carry on would be to give too much away, but she decided otherwise. “When I first… heard of you, I thought you were just… some pretentious, stuck-up, rich snob. It didn’t matter what you looked like. It wasn’t until I got the chance to know you, the real you, that I started to like you.”

Adrien curled up to Ladybug’s side, resting his head in her lap.

 

* * *

 

In another part of the city, Adrien’s new ad campaign was being considered thoroughly by the fan who had knocked Marinette out of the top spot. Wayhem was on his lunch break, and had a copy of a fashion magazine with the exclusive pictures. He had not yet been able to bring himself to open it, however.

“Wow, remember when that Adrien guy was huge?” said another boy, standing behind Wayhem and laughing at the magazine. “Now he just looks like a joke!”

Wayhem stood up and turned around quickly. He gripped the magazine tightly in his fist, and glowered at the boy. “Shut up, Lou! He’s just… trying something different, that’s all!”

“Come on, Lou, you know you can’t tease Wayhem about his precious Adrien. He  _ loves _ him!” said a girl, walking up and standing besides Lou.

“Leave me alone, Angelique!” Wayhem screamed, scowling. He ran away, their laughs following him.

 

* * *

 

Hawkmoth frowned as his observation window opened.

“How disappointing. I had expected this photoshoot to finally be enough to akumatise Adrien… but no matter,” he said, sending off a corrupted butterfly. “Fly away, litlle akuma, and evilise this betrayed fan!”

 

* * *

 

Wayhem had managed to find some solitude, and had resumed pouring over the treacherous image.

“I just don’t get it, Adrien,” he sighed. “You were perfect. Why would you change…”

He didn’t notice as the akuma flew into the back of the magazine. He did notice what came next.

“Mayhem! Your idol has let you down. Perhaps he should no longer be your idol - perhaps you should,” Hawkmoth said. He could sense Wayhem’s confusion, so he explained. “I’m giving you the power to make anyone see things through your eyes - or anybody else’s. In return, you will give me the power to see things as Ladybug and Cat Noir do.”

Mayhem grinned. “They’ll soon see things my way, Hawkmoth!”

The image on the magazine began to shift and move, swapping places with the person holding it…

 

* * *

 

Lou and Angelique were headed back to class when they heard a cackle. They turned around and saw what had become of Wayhem. He was wearing the very same outfit from Adrien’s photoshoot, with the hair to match. His face was hard to distinguish, however, seeming out of focus.

“So, what do you think of my new look, guys?” Mayhem called out.

Before either of them could respond, his hair spikes extended and shot towards them like tendrils, wrapping them up. They wriggled in an attempt to escape, but were firmly held up in the air. By now, any other students around had fled. Lou and Angelique, their mouths covered, stared down at Mayhem in wide-eyed horror.

“It seems you’re not a fan of me trying out Adrien’s look! Let’s see how you feel trying out each other’s!” he spat.

Mayhem’s hair glowed for a moment, then dropped the pair on the ground. Lou and Angelique looked at each other - or rather, they looked at themselves.

“Y-You swapped us!” Lou gasped, but his voice came from Angelique.

“Change us back, right now!” Angelique said.

“Please, I don’t have time for  _ you _ . I have far more important people to be!” Mayhem said, and he simply turned and walked away. Angelique - as Lou - tried to run at him, but a hair-spike-tendril simply swatted her to the ground, without Mayhem even looking back.

 

* * *

 

Not long thereafter, At Françoise Dupont High School, Alya and Nino were still waiting in the courtyard for Marinette to return. The bell had rung a few minutes earlier, but they didn’t want to abandon their friend.

“Come along, now, students! You should already be back in class,” Mr Damocles said, walking up to the pair.

“Sir, we’re looking for our friend, Marinette, have you seen her?” Nino asked. Damocles frowned.

“It is most noble of you to show concern for others, but that is not your current responsibility. You need to head on the class now, I’ll keep looking for your friend,” he said, puffing up his chest.

“She’ll turn up. Maybe she just went straight to class,” Alya suggested.

At that moment, the front doors burst open, kicked open by Mayhem. He strode in and walked right up to the group. Alya and Nino made sure to position themselves between Mayhem and Damocles, taking up defensive stances.

“Where is Adrien Agreste?” Mayhem said, simply and calmly.

Alya scoffed. “As if we’d tell you!”

Mayhem smiled as the three screamed when his hair lifted them up into the air. The noise drew the rest of the school out of their classrooms, giving Mayhem a full audience.

“You’re bold, young lady! Far more so than this old fool! I think you should be in charge around here!”

Mayhem threw Nino aside, then his hair glowed once again. Once it died down, he dropped Alya and Damocles.

Damocles looked down at his much smaller body and squealed. “You put me back right now or- or I’ll have you in detention for - for a very long time!” he said, his voice dropping and becoming shaky as he failed to deliver a real threat.

“I don’t go here,” Mayhem said, with a sneer. He turned his attention to the gathering crowd. “Now, if someone could direct me to Adrien Agreste, I’d be most grateful.”

The hall fell silent for just one moment, before one particular voice simply could not help but make itself heard.

“Get with the program, loser. Adrien’s not even here today, he’s at home sick,” Chloé said.

Mayhem groaned. “Typical. Well, no worries, I’ll just go and find him. And it looks like you just volunteered to show me the way!”

His hair shot forwards and grabbed Chloé. After glowing, it set her down.

“Excellent. Now, let’s get moving,” Mayhem said, snapping Chloé’s fingers. Chloé looked down at herself in Mayhem’s akumatised body, but found that otherwise she couldn’t control it. When Mayhem walked passed as her, she found his body followed, with her trapped inside. Chloé did quickly realise, though, that she could still speak.

“Don’t just stand there staring, somebody do something! Help!” she screamed, but the spikes now atop her head aimed themselves back into the hall, preventing anyone from getting close.

 

* * *

 

Nathalie sighed as she got up to check the security cameras when the doorbell rang. Nobody was expected, so she was sure it was just a prank, but she had to check.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked robotically once the intercom was activated. When no reply came, she looked over and rolled her eyes at Chloé Bourgeois, grinning and waving at her. Nathalie groaned, but buzzed her in. She could easily make her way to Adrien’s room, and Nathalie wouldn’t have to deal with her.

Mayhem led Chloé, who was being gagged by his dextrous hair, up to the house and straight through the front door. They strode into the atrium like they owned the place.

“Yoohoo, Adrien, come on out, I have some opinions I’d like to share about your new ad!” Mayhem yelled. The Gorilla stomped over from in front of Adrien’s door to stand at the top of the stairs and glare down at the pair, cracking his knuckles. Mayhem pretended to gasp in horror. “Oh no! The muscle! Chloé, whatever shall we do?”

Mayhem’s hair unravelled around his head, and Chloé spluttered. “Let me go, you freak! You’ve got what you wanted from me!”

While not fully understanding the situation, the Gorilla recognised a problem when he saw it. He charged down the stairs, but Mayhem just smiled Chloé’s smug grin.

“You’re right. I’m done with you,” he said. Chloé wailed as his spiky hair stretched out yet again, this time grabbing her own body and the Gorilla’s. Moments later, Chloé was cast aside. She didn’t hesitate to run away screaming.

The Gorilla, on the other hand, could only scowl as Mayhem flexed his new giant arms and stomped his way back upstairs.

 

* * *

 

Ladybug and Adrien had been close to drifting off to sleep, laying so peacefully, when the commotion started outside. They got up to try to listen in, and when they heard Chloé screaming, Ladybug sprang into action.

She pulled open the door, and ducked to the side just in time to dodge as the Gorilla came barrelling at her, ultimately crashing into a ramp. She was surprised enough not to notice the villain's true form now standing in the doorway. Luckily for her, Mayhem and Hawkmoth were also quite surprised.

“Ladybug is already here? But how?” Mayhem heard Hawkmoth say. “Someone must have warned her that you’d be coming for Adrien…  _ Marinette _ !”

“Who?” Mayhem asked back.

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that this gives you the perfect opportunity to take Ladybug’s Miraculous! Have the bodyguard get them, now!”

Ladybug and Adrien both walked up to who they thought to be the Gorilla. Adrien was concerned, though Ladybug approached with a wary apprehension.

“Are you all right… um…” Adrien said, panicking as he realised he didn’t know the Gorilla’s name.

Mayhem laughed. Ladybug and Adrien both went wide-eyed as they saw the Gorilla speak for the first time.

“Oh, I’m fine. But I’m over there!”

The Gorilla had reached out with Mayhem’s arms to grab Ladybug’s earrings, but the instant she felt the fingertip brushing on her earlobe, she span around and slammed him into the window, forming a giant crack.

“Oops. I’ll fix that later,” she said to Adrien.

“See, I told you, the photoshoot was so bad it’s gotten someone akumatised!” Adrien groaned. “Wayhem, is that you?”

“Not for long!” Mayhem said, shoving Ladybug aside. He picked up his body and pointed his own head straight at Adrien.

The hair had him tangled up before he could react, and Adrien found himself held up in the air.

“You’re mine, Adrien!” Mayhem cackled. The brown roots of his hair were already beginning to glow.

The hair snaked towards the Gorilla’s body, but Ladybug swung through and kicked him out of the way, finding herself wrapped up in the hair instead as the glow engulfed it.

“No!” Mayhem cried.

Ladybug and Adrien both dropped. As they steadied themselves on each other’s feet, they looked at themselves, and gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Body swap baby! Woo!
> 
> This is one of those concepts that I am SURE the show will do at some point. Most likely with Ladybug & Cat Noir swapping - but that's not nearly as fun as this :D
> 
> FYI I've not yet seen Catalyst, as I only watch the show in English, so no spoilers please! I've already had enough of that from gifsets on tumblr -_-
> 
> We're in the homestretch now!


	36. In Your Shoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Adrien must escape from Mayhem and figure out a plan now that they've been body swapped.

The first thing that Marinette noticed, now that she was Adrien instead of Ladybug, was Tikki’s absence. It was something she had never consciously noticed before, but as Ladybug her thoughts were definitely partly Tikki. Being suddenly and forcefully separated from Tikki was jarring, and made her feel strangely lonely. However, she simply couldn’t worry about that in the moment. She had to focus on finding a solution to the situation and protecting Adrien.

The first thing that Adrien noticed, now that he was Ladybug, was Tikki’s presence. He felt very glad to have had the opportunity to meet Tikki beforehand, because having his mind mixed in with hers without ever having spoken to her would have felt oddly rude. Naturally, it was a somewhat familiar sensation to being Cat Noir, but Tikki felt different in his mind. Regardless, it was something to consider later. In that moment, he was the one with powers, and his Lady was defenceless. He had to protect her.

“The window!” Adrien said, and he saw himself look at it, and nod. Marinette began to run to the window; she was closer, but he, with her powers, was faster.

Mayhem, however, had both the brute force of the Gorilla, and his own powers on his side. He picked himself up, growling, and he charged at the pair. His hair tendrils were faster still, however, and grabbed Marinette and Adrien’s ankles just as they were standing on the window ledge.

“Adrien! You need to call for a lucky charm! We have to get to safety!” Marinette cried. She saw the terror etched on her face, but Adrien nodded nonetheless.

“Lucky Charm!” he declared, spinning the yoyo up into the air. Falling into his grasp was a red and black-spotted metal rod, less than a foot long.

“What is that?” Marinette asked. Adrien tried to conceal both his shock and his relief and the familiar item he was holding.

“It’s a staff, like Cat Noir’s!” he said, as though this were merely a useful aid, and not his lifeblood in battle.

The pole extended, and Adrien swiped Mayhem’s hair and sent the Gorilla flying. Marinette realised what was happening just in time to hold herself and Adrien steady, and the hair released their ankles. He then pointed it back at Mayhem, and extended the pole into the Gorilla’s chest, knocking Mayhem back and pinning him against the wall.

Adrien sighed inwardly; he would much prefer to keep the staff with them, and use it to travel, but he knew it would be far more suspicious than it already was to keep it with them, and he needed to keep Mayhem back until they could make their escape.

Adrien pulled Marinette close about the waist - and took a moment to consider how strange it was to be holding his own body from outside of it - while readying her yoyo. Marinette wrapped Adrien’s arms around her own neck as Adrien cast the yoyo to the nearest building. Together, they kicked off, and swang away, Adrien dropping the staff as they began to move.

Mayhem pulled himself back up, growling, and sped over to the window. The Gorilla followed.

“You mustn’t let them escape, Mayhem, but you  _ must not _ hurt either of them while their minds are swapped!” Hawkmoth hissed furiously into Mayhem’s ear, as though he had already done something to harm either of them. “You need to take Ladybug’s Miraculous from Adrien quickly, before Cat Noir shows up. Ladybug is powerless, and Adrien will not know how to properly use her powers. They can run, but they can’t hide!”

“Oh, they certainly can’t, Hawkmoth,” Mayhem said, grinning malevolently. “Not with me causing mayhem!”

He picked up his body, and leapt through the window, landing with a roll on the concrete below. He grimaced, but looked up to see passersby staring at him through the mansion gates.

 

* * *

 

“We need to stop somewhere and regroup! Think things over,” Marinette said, as Adrien carried her across Paris.

“I know,” Adrien said, pausing for breath, “but we need to be far away from Mayhem! So he doesn’t just find us easily.”

“Did you have somewhere in mind?” Marinette asked.

Adrien did not answer, but kept determinedly swinging. He needed to gain height - how did she ever manage it? It was so easy with his staff to go as high as he needed, but the yoyo relied on having higher and higher supports onto which it could latch.

He carried them to a familiar place, though at first Marinette couldn’t work out why she recognised it. Once they landed and she looked around, she realised it was the same rooftop to which she had brought Adrien to watch the sunset.

“Okay, so this is pretty crazy,” Marinette said, laughing nervously and sweeping Adrien’s hand through his hair. The act only reaffirmed just how crazy the situation was. “How do you feel? I know it must feel weird, suddenly having these powers, and another mind inside your mind…”

Adrien didn’t want to downplay her concerns, but he refused to either lie, or to waste time acting like he couldn’t cope with being transformed. Despite himself, being powered up, he couldn’t help feeling some of Cat Noir’s cockiness coming through.

“Don’t worry, Lovebug,” he said with a wink, “I can handle it. I just had to make sure you were safe. You wait here, I’ll go back for round 2 and deal with Wayhem. Maybe I can talk to him.”

He was already moving back towards the edge of the building, when he heard a warning beep, much louder than he was used to, seeing as the Miraculous was right on his ear. He faltered, and froze.

“Are you kidding me!?” Marinette cried, clearly not appreciating his overconfidence or bravado. “There’s no way I’m letting you go and fight him! Even if you weren’t about to transform back, it’s way too dangerous! I can’t risk you getting hurt. These powers aren’t infallible, you know.”

He turned to her, and folded her arms. “Well, what do you propose then? We can’t just wait around and hope everything works out for the best.”

“No, of course not. Look, you wait here, and I’ll just go and find a way to get the akuma-”

“And I’m the one who’s kidding around!?” Adrien said, sounding so genuinely cross with her that Marinette was taken aback. “Not a chance! I know you’re a hero, Ladybug, but without your powers you can’t fight a villain like that. Plus, from the sounds of things, you’d be giving him exactly what he wants - me.” 

“Fine,” Marinette said, sitting down and crossing Adrien’s legs. She looked up and smiled brightly, a smile that Adrien could read was sincere, even. “We’ll just wait for Cat Noir to show up, he’ll be able to handle this.”

Adrien felt Marinette’s stomach drop. “Right. Cat Noir. Of course…”

 

* * *

 

Mayhem was standing up in the Agreste limo, through the sunroof, looking around for Ladybug and Adrien. He had had to ditch the Gorilla’s body for a smaller passerby in order to fit, taking the car keys for himself and leaving the Gorilla as a toddler, in order to ensure the brute didn’t follow him. This left an extremely bulky bodyguard having a temper tantrum and smashing up the street.

As the car went along, hair spikes shot out of the limo’s front windows, body swapping people completely at random. Mostly, this just left a lot of confused, mildly panicked people, but some didn’t take to the swap well, and they began rioting.

“Which way did they go!?” Mayhem yelled, slamming his stolen fist on the limo roof.

“Ladybug is smart, she would make sure to hide somewhere we’d be unlikely to find her… But Adrien wouldn’t think like that..." Hawkmoth said, thinking aloud to Mayhem. " Look for Adrien at his school, or his girlfriend’s house. Even if Adrien hasn’t hidden there, you can draw him out by targeting his friends!”

Mayhem smirked, and stamped his foot to get his driver’s attention, as though he didn’t still have full control over his own body. “You heard the man! Step on it!”

 

* * *

 

The earrings had given their one minute warning, so Adrien covered his eyes. Marinette smiled.

“What are you doing? You can look, you’re not going to see my face or anything,” she giggled.

“I guess not… but I didn’t want to take any chances. Maybe you’ve got… really distinctive shoes,” Adrien said. He flashed a grin, and Marinette laughed.

They both drew deep breaths as the earrings beeped. Marinette watched the Ladybug transformation drop, and saw Tikki float out of her earrings.

“Well that was… weird,” Tikki said, shaking her head thoroughly.

“Sorry about this, Tikki,” Adrien said, hoping the kwami could see Marinette’s apologetic smile underneath her fingers.

“Oh, that’s okay, um, Adrien! Are you two doing okay?” Tikki asked, looking between the pair.

“We’ve been through a lot worse. You’d better rest up, Tikki, sooner or later we’re going to need you again,” Marinette said. Tikki nodded, and floated towards Marinette’s bag. “Adrien, you’ve got my bag, on your hip - could you let Tikki in to get a snack?”

“Right! Of course!” Adrien said. He reached for the bag, keeping Marinette’s eyes screwed tightly shut, and fumbled it open. “You like macarons, right Tikki? You know, I bet I could get you those really easily, from my friend Marinette’s bakery!”

Tikki looked up at Marinette’s face as those words came from her lips. She screwed up her lips tight, and squeaked out a particularly high-pitched “Mm hmm!” before seeking solace in Marinette’s bag, closing the clasp behind herself.

Marinette and Adrien sat together in awkward silence. Marinette knew she needed to be there to help, but she couldn’t be… she’d have to have Adrien transform again, and call Cat Noir and tell him to call her after he’d managed to break open the akuma. Adrien, on the other hand, knew that Cat Noir wasn’t coming, and that Ladybug had to be there to stop Mayhem.

“Ladybug… what if you just take the earrings, and Tikki, and transform as you are? Surely that’s better than you not being there at all?” Adrien said eventually.

Marinette looked towards him, gaping a little, but without anything to say. Would it work? She could transform, and go fight as Adrien and-

“No. It’s still too risky. Just sit tight, Adrien. You don’t know Cat Noir like I do, he can do this. In a moment I’ll-”

She paused. From off in the distance came dozens of piercing screams. Adrien opened Marinette’s eyes and they both looked towards the source of the disturbance. There was no doubt it was coming from their school.

Adrien turned back and met his own startled eyes. He had to make her understand. “Ladybug, we can’t just sit here, we have to do something! Cat- Cat Noir’s not coming!”

Marinette pulled a more fierce expression than Adrien thought his face had ever managed before. “Of course he is, Adrien. Why would you say that? He may have his faults, but Cat Noir always comes through when I need him, and I know-”

They were both getting upset. It was a tense and stressful situation, certainly not ideal for their first fight. Adrien never wanted to upset Ladybug, but he couldn’t let her sit by and rely on Cat Noir, not this time.

“Please, I don’t want to upset you,” Adrien said, practically on the verge of tears himself. “I know how important Cat Noir is, to you and to Paris, but you have to listen to me, Bugaboo, he’s not coming!”

“He- what did you just call me?”

Adrien froze, and felt the blood draining from Marinette’s face. “I-”

They heard what sounded like a distant explosion.

“There’s no more time, they need us! Plagg!”

“They wh- Plagg- what!?” Marinette gasped, as she felt Adrien’s shirt ruffling.

The small black cat, kwami of destruction, yawned and stretched as he gently fluttered out of Adrien’s pocket.

“Okay, I’m ready, what’s happen-” Plagg began, freezing as he took in the situation. He turned and looked up at his holder, not appreciating the look of total shock and bewilderment on Adrien’s face as Marinette stared at him. “Uhh, Adrien, you do realise Marinette is right there, right?”

“Marinette!?” Adrien cried, looking down at himself, and seeing those ever-recognisable pink jeans, and the bag she had made herself on her birthday, and-

Marinette and Adrien stared in slack-jawed wonder at themselves. Plagg looked back and forth between them.

“I feel like I may have missed something important.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REVEAL TIME BABY WOO
> 
> Man was this a hard one to write... turns out body swapping works a lot better visually than in text. I can't just say "Marinette brushed her fingers through her hair" because that's not her hair and those aren't her fingers! Add on to that secret identities and it's a whole big mess... It wouldn't have felt right to be calling her Ladybug there, when Adrien was transformed and had Tikki with him. So, since we're nearing the end of the fic, and this chapter literally has the moment of the reveal, they'll just be Marinette and Adrien going forwards.
> 
> Hope you're getting hyped for the final few chapters! :D


	37. Cug & Bat Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Identities revealed, bodies swapped, but still Mayhem must be stopped.

Whenever Adrien had imagined he and Ladybug revealing their true identities to each other, it had never been like this. In his mind, he had always been able to  _ at least _ see the shock and awe on her face. Instead, he simply had a reflection of how he was feeling, and how, he was sure, he was making Marinette’s face look in that moment.

Whenever Marinette had imagined she and Cat Noir revealing their true identities to each other, it had never been like this. In her mind, Cat Noir was some mysterious elusive stranger, and when they finally unmasked it would be to reveal an unfamiliar face. They would talk, share their real names, and finally get to learn about one another’s day-to-day lives.

“Plagg! What are you doing!” Tikki squeaked as she emerged from Marinette’s bag. “You’re giving away your holder’s secret!”

Plagg scowled at her. “Oh, I’m sorry,  _ Tikki _ , am I giving away that  _ Adrien _ is  _ Cat Noir _ , and  _ Marinette _ is  _ Ladybug _ !? Am I? Or did Adrien, in fact, call me out of his pocket right in front of Marinette!”

He flew up to Adrien’s shoulder and perched there with a smug smirk. Tikki rolled her eyes.

“That’s not Adrien, Plagg. He’s over there,” Tikki said, pointing back at Marinette.

Plagg looked back and forth between their faces. Then he burst out laughing, collapsing onto the roof. Tikki smacked him.

“I can’t believe it. Adrien. You- you’re really-” Marinette managed to say. Adrien nodded.

“And you- you’re- you’re Marinette!”

Before any more could be said, they were snapped back to reality by the sound of a car crash.

“Right. We don’t have time for this. My lady, now that you know it’s me,  _ please _ , you have to let me go stop Mayhem!”

Marinette blinked, then grinned. “Let you? Kitty, please. I’m coming with you!”

Adrien chuckled to himself at how quickly their situation had reversed. “I get where you’re coming from, but Hawkmoth knows we’ve been swapped. If he sees Cat Noir acting differently to normal, he’ll figure out my identity.”

“It’s going to be weird enough if he sees Ladybug going back into battle, he’d already know I let you. But this isn't up for discussion. We’re the bug and cat team, remember? Even if today you’re the bug and I’m the cat,” Marinette said. She held up Adrien’s hand for a fist bump. Adrien shook Marinette’s head, smiling, and returned the gesture.

“Right you are, my lady. Are you two ready for this?” Adrien called to the kwamis, without ever breaking eye contact with Marinette.

“As I’ll ever be…” Tikki sighed.

“Wait, ready for what exactly?” Plagg asked nervously.

“Plagg, claws out!” Marinette declared.

“Tikki, spots on!” Adrien cried.

Neither knew quite what to expect from experiencing the other’s transformation. The feeling wasn’t too dissimilar to their own, and the magic took care of everything. After just a few short moments, they stood, staring at their own heroic forms.

“Well, let’s get this show on the road,” Adrien said, readying Ladybug’s yoyo and moving to the edge of the roof. “I’ve already had some practice with this, so… try to keep up!”

He leapt from the rooftop and began to swing.

Marinette pulled up Cat Noir’s staff, flicking it in the air. Cat Noir used it. Nino had used it without even being transformed! How hard could it be?

She ran at the edge of the rooftop and jumped, pressing the button on the staff to extend it. It grew from a foot long to approximately Cat Noir’s height, and she fell down to the pavement below. She groaned as she picked herself up.

“Okay. Let’s try that again…”

 

* * *

 

The streets surrounding Françoise Dupont High School were pandemonium. Some students and faculty were running away screaming. Some were causing serious damage, such as those who had suddenly found themselves driving for the first time in their lives, crashing.

Mayhem had taken on Ivan’s form, and was standing on the rooftop, with Ivan in his body stood right behind. He squinted, staring off into the distance for a glimpse of Ladybug, Adrien, or even Cat Noir.

Adrien approached the school on ground level, hugging the walls to keep in Mayhem’s blind spots. He made it through the front doors and into the school courtyard, finding some of his teachers and classmates hiding. He was somewhat startled to see Mr Damocles and Nathaniel running up to him together.

“Ladybug, thank goodness you’re here, this dude is whack!” Nathaniel said, and Adrien quickly realised that he was actually Nino.

“How’s everybody holding up here?” Adrien asked. Nino frowned.

“Most of us are all right,” said Alya from the principal’s body, “we’ve gotten used to this kind of thing around here. Some of us… not so much. Mr Damocles has gone and barricaded himself in his office  _ in my body _ !”

“Well don’t worry, I’m gonna go take care of this and have everything back to normal before you know it!” Adrien said. He began spinning the yoyo, ready to pull himself up to the roof.

“Hold up. Adrien!? You got swapped with Ladybug!?” Nino said, fortunately having the tact to whisper.

Adrien blinked. He was too surprised to either freak out or deny it. “Uh… yeah, it’s me… how could you tell?”

“Dude, you think I can’t recognise my best bro’s voice just because he’s transformed into a mask-wearing superhero?” Nino countered, shaking Nathaniel’s head. Adrien was grateful that he could feel Tikki’s presence keeping him level-headed and warding off his sass.

“So you called in sick to school today to be with her? For shame, Adrien. Look where that’s gotten us,” Alya said, tutting him.

“N-no, it’s not like that!” Adrien cried. “Look, let me just… I’m going to go deal with Mayhem, okay?”

“Good luck, Adri-bug,” Alya said with a snigger.

 

* * *

 

Adrien pulled his way up to the roof, and landed behind a raised wall. He peered around the corner, readying the yoyo to catch Mayhem by surprise. Ivan spotted him, and stifled a gasp. He gave the tiniest of nods, and screwed Mayhem’s lips up tight.

Silently stepping out from behind the pillar, Adrien began inching towards Mayhem. Suddenly, Ivan marched forwards to within Mayhem’s vision, and pointed robotically towards Adrien.

“Aha! Trying to sneak up on me, are you?” Mayhem cackled, thrusting Ivan’s arm towards Adrien, and his hair shot forwards again.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug, I couldn’t stop it!” Ivan cried out in dismay.

Adrien twirled the yoyo to create a shield that trimmed off the ends of the tendrils as they got close, but there were simply too many; before long he was caught up in the hair. Mayhem raised him up into the air.

“Now I’ll take on the powers of Ladybug, and nobody will be able to stop me getting what I want!” he cackled.

“Just remember Mayhem, that’s Adrien in there. Make sure he isn’t hurt,” Hawkmoth reminded his villain. “Ladybug allowed him to return to battle… and she’s supposed to be the hero!? What was she thinking!”

“Don’t sweat it, Hawkmoth, he’ll be safe and sound right at the centre of the Mayhem,” Mayhem said as another hair spike wrapped its way around Ivan’s body.

“Cataclysm!”

All three looked up to see Cat Noir’s form falling from up above, his staff shrinking back to its normal size from the height of a building. Marinette landed, slashing Adrien’s claws through Mayhem’s hair. The spike withered and died, and Ivan began to scream as the destructive energy began moving back towards Mayhem’s head.

“Hope you don’t mind if I drop in,” Marinette said, sounding cockier than Adrien had ever heard her in either form.

Adrien threw the yoyo forwards and looped it around the dying hair, tightening the cord to cut it off at the roots before the destruction could reach the scalp. Ivan sighed.

“Talk about a bad hair day,” she chuckled, as the severed spike disintegrated.

“Is that really what I sound like?” Adrien whispered in horror.

“Oh no. You’re not nearly as funny as me,  _ Bugaboo _ ,” Marinette said. She ran towards Mayhem and Ivan, swiping away attacks with the staff.

“Ah, Cat Noir finally makes his appearance. Feel free to go all out on  _ him _ ,” Hawkmoth hissed to Mayhem.

Mayhem sneered, and swiped a fist at Marinette. The blow caught her right in the jaw, and she was knocked to the side. Marinette steadied herself with the staff, then vaulted around to come in for a kick - until she realised it was really Ivan’s body she’d have to kick. She changed her move to swing around Mayhem to come at him from the other side, splitting Mayhem’s focus.

“Any time now, Ladybug!” Marinette called, as she took to parrying hits coming at her both from Ivan’s fists and Mayhem’s hair.

“Right, while Marinette keeps him distracted, I get rid of the akuma! You know, I could get used to being in this role…” Adrien said, grinning to himself. That smile was wiped away as Marinette took another blow. “But not as long as my lady needs me.”

Adrien called on a new lucky charm, and was rewarded with a small glass bottle.

“Uh… cologne? What am I supposed to do with this?” he pondered aloud.

“Welcome to my world!” Marinette called over to him, as she pushed the staff against Mayhem to back him up against a wall.

Adrien took off the cap and gave the scent a sniff. He winced at the smell, and sighed. “Of course.”

He leapt back down into the school courtyard and ran around to everyone gathered there, dousing them all with the cologne. He instructed everyone to mill about, then hid beneath the stairs.

Mayhem managed to push Marinette back, but found himself distracted before he could go in for another hit. He sniffed at the air.

“Wait a minute… radiant… carefree… dreamy!”

“Hey! Mayhem! I’m down here, come and get me!” Adrien yelled, cupping Marinette’s hands around her mouth.

Mayhem wrapped a hair spike around Ivan’s body to lower himself down to the courtyard, then had Ivan jump in after.

“No, what are you doing! You know Adrien’s not in his own body!” Hawkmoth hissed in Mayhem’s ear.

Mayhem wasn’t paying attention. He dashed around the room, grabbing each person in turn and turning them to face him. He kept checking for each one to see if they were, in fact, Adrien himself.

Marinette silently pounced down to ground level. With Mayhem so hopelessly distracted, she was able to sneak up on him, pulling out the magazine that was tucked into his pocket.

“All yours, Ladybug!” Marinette said, tossing the roll of paper through the air.

Adrien emerged from beneath the stairs to catch it. He unfurled the magazine to see the offending ad glaring back at him.

“With pleasure,” he said, tearing the magazine in half. The accursed butterfly began to flutter away.

With an approving nod from Marinette, Adrien pulled out the yoyo once again, sliding a finger along it to open it. “Let’s see if we can figure this out. No more evil-doing for you, little akuma! Time to de-evilise!”

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” Adrien said cheerfully, as it freely flew away. Marinette had moved to stand with him now, and together they hurled the cologne bottle into the air.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

All around them people began zooming around, their bodies swapping back into position rather than their minds. Mayhem’s akumatised form peeled away to reveal Ivan, while Ivan morphed into Wayhem. Across Paris, the damage caused by the errant victims repaired itself.

Marinette and Adrien looked at their own masked faces one last time, and with a grin their fists connected.

“Pound it!”

It took no less time than to finish their victory cry for them to also be returned to their own bodies.

 

* * *

 

“It seems no matter who wields the power, somehow Ladybug always finds a way to stop me… But one day, I’ll be the one holding that power!” Hawkmoth declared dramatically to his empty room as his window closed.

As his transformation dropped and Gabriel returned to his office, however, he couldn’t help but smile. His son had been protected by Ladybug throughout it all… and that would not have been possible if not for his relationship with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

 

* * *

 

Now, as Adrien and Marinette looked at each other, everything came crashing down on them. They knew who it was under the mask just inches away.

Their Miraculouses beeped.

“I think it’s best if you handle this one,” Marinette said, tilting her head towards Wayhem, standing awkwardly on unfamiliar turf. “But when you’re done… meet me at my place.”

Marinette gave Adrien a wink, then took to the skies, thrilled to be reunited with her yoyo. Adrien snuck away to transform back, then walked over to Wayhem with a kindly smile.

Ladybug and Cat Noir, Marinette and Adrien… They had a lot to talk about, but that could wait for just a few minutes more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Ahh! We're almost at the end! In fact, I've already written the last chapter, ready to be posted next Monday. I'll talk more about everything then :)
> 
> It was alluded to in the previous chapter too, but I'm fond of the idea that the Kwamis have some impact on the heroes' personalities. Marinette with Plagg, that confidence and cockiness - that was a lot of fun to write :D Gah, this whole fic has been fun to write.


	38. Love's Labour's Won

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien finally get to talk after the reveal. Alya and Nino have some thoughts.

While waiting for Adrien to arrive, Marinette fidgeted with a needle and some spare scraps of string and fabric, sewing, undoing, and resewing knots. She’d had to use a few pieces of fabric, after poking so many holes into one that it began to fall apart.

Eventually, after, at Marinette’s best estimate, eighteen thousand years, a rapping came at the open skylight. Marinette worried that if she looked up right away she’d lose her voice, so she simply called, “Come in!”

Then she turned and saw Cat Noir climbing down the ladder from her bed. He turned to her, and beaming broadly, said, “Claws in.” In a flash of light, Cat Noir was gone, and replaced by Adrien and Plagg - who was swiftly escorted away by Tikki.

“So, it wasn’t just a dream then. That all really happened,” Marinette said. Her voice was faint.

“I hope so,” Adrien said. His voice was shaking, despite his broad grin. “Otherwise, that makes me climbing into your bedroom and revealing myself pretty embarrassing.

For an eternal moment, they stared at one another, slowly inching closer. Adrien reached up, his fingertips just barely brushing against Marinette’s cheek. Then, all at once, they collapsed onto each other, breaking down into unparalleled fits of laughter.

“How stupid are we!” Marinette cried out gleefully, wiping tears from her eyes.

Adrien tried to catch his breath to reply, but every time he got close to forming a word he broke once again, dragging Marinette with him every time. Eventually, he managed to collect himself, and pulled himself up into a sitting position. Marinette remained sprawled out on the floor, gazing up at him like she’d never seen him before.

“Marinette. I love you,” he said. He didn’t laugh, but he smiled so widely it hurt. He couldn’t stop it.

Marinette matched his face, and pulled herself up onto her knees. “I love you too, Kitty.”

They leaned into each other and kissed. It was an awkward, clumsy fumble, with Marinette kneeling and Adrien cross-legged. It wasn’t full of fiery passion. It was slow, and tender. They had kissed many, many times, but this was their first true kiss; their first kiss with everything laid bare, fully knowing each other. It was the most wonderful kiss, the most spectacular feeling either had ever experienced.

After far too long and no time at all, they pulled back. Marinette was supporting herself against Adrien’s shoulders, but she took a finger and twirled it in Adrien’s hair.

“My Kitty… Pretty Boy… Pretty Kitty… Kitty Boy,” Marinette said, each new twist on his name and in his hair earning a laugh. “So many new nicknames!”

Marinette still had one hand pushing against Adrien’s shoulder. His arms holding himself up finally gave in and he fell back, bringing Marinette with him. She laughed lightly and curled up besides him, laying down and staring up at the ceiling.

“So, let’s see if I’ve figured this all out,” Adrien said. “You and I started dating-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, it starts way further back than that!” Plagg said grumpily, swooping back in, unable to be held back by Tikki. “We had to live through that all that ridiculousness, the least you can do is remember it all and feel the shame!”

Adrien frowned at Plagg, but Marinette laughed. “Go on then, Plagg. Tell us about our greatest hits of obliviousness.”

“Well, first you just so happened to meet both as yourselves and heroes right at the same time. And you both fell in love with each other immediately!” Plagg said, sticking out his tongue and retching.

“Not straight away, it was just a crush at first. I didn’t fall _in love_ with Adrien for…” Marinette said, but as she realised what she was about to admit, she trailed off into mumbles. Adrien grinned down at her.

“For how long?”

Marinette sighed, and pressed her face into his chest. “Like three days.”

“Ha! Wow, that’s embarrassing,” Adrien said, and Marinette pouted. “It took you that long to fall in love? I loved you from the moment you stood up to Hawkmoth and told Paris how we’d fight for them - even though moments before you’d thought you couldn’t even be Ladybug.”

There was no shame in Adrien’s voice, nor on his face as Marinette permitted herself to look at him again.

“I could never have done that without your help. And I started liking you the moment you gave me your umbrella in the rain… how genuine and kind you were, after how angry I’d been at you…” Marinette said, sighing happily.

“You had every right to be so upset with me. I must have looked horrible from your point of view, and I did a really bad job explaining myself-”

“Could you just be a little less perfect for just a few seconds?” Marinette said, somewhere between amused and maddened. “Otherwise I’ll just have to kiss you!”

“Please don’t,” Plagg groaned.

“Ooh, Clara Nightingale’s music video was a good one,” Tikki said, giggling. Adrien gasped and Marinette’s eyes widened as they realised with excitement what had almost happened.

“Can you imagine if we’d actually put those masks on?” Adrien asked.

“Yeah, I was actually grateful to Chloé for messing that up…”

“I guess Clara was right, we _do_ have great chemistry.”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “You were both deliberately acting as awkward as possible so nobody would figure it out! Some chemistry! Fine, how about loverboy over here coming to _your_ balcony and telling you all about how unlucky in love he was!”

Adrien groaned and covered his face with his hand. Marinette bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“It’s okay, Kitty. It was sweet, really. I didn’t actually realise how you felt until then…” she said, patting his shoulder.

“Hold on,” he said, quickly sitting up, looking at Marinette with a mix of irritation and amusement. “You told me all about your crush on me too!”

“Well - yeah, b-but only after you figured it out and came here - after we were already dating! I just had to keep up appearances so you wouldn’t get all suspicious,” Marinette said, blushing a little.

Tikki frowned at Plagg’s happy smirk.

“It was _very_ sweet how you both told each other about your relationship,” she said.

Plagg scowled back at her as he saw his hard work in making the two humans uncomfortable began unravelling. Marinette and Adrien looked at each with small smiles and wide eyes as they recalled the trust they’d both had in each other completely.

“Yeah, and then Marinette told all your friends you were dating!” Plagg said. He somehow managed to fall over from laughing while floating in midair.

“ _Wait you weren’t even lying_!” Adrien gasped. Marinette grinned. Adrien gaped at her in awe.

“And then you both fell in love with each other completely! It was so sweet!” Tikki giggled. Adrien and Marinette still managed to blush as she nuzzled into his neck.

“And then you went and got caught, like a pair of amateurs at secret keeping!” Plagg said, tutting them.

“Oh. Right. Uh oh,” Marinette said.

“What?” Adrien asked.

“Alya and Nino… we told them you’re dating Ladybug,” Marinette said. Realisation dawned on Adrien’s face. “Yeah. See, with everyone else knowing we were dating, I was hoping we’d never end up telling everyone it was fake, and then when I could finally tell you that I’m Ladybug, we’d just carry on, no big deal…”

“Oh, Bugaboo… I am so sorry I let Nino see our messages,” Adrien groaned.

“Well, it’s your responsibility to figure out how to explain, Pretty Boy,” Marinette said, booping Adrien’s nose. He rolled his eyes as his phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Oh, hey, that’s probably them now,” Adrien said, pulling it out to check the message. His face fell fearfully as he read.

Marinette gave Adrien a frown Ladybug had always reserved for Cat Noir. “What did you do?”

“My Lady! You wound me! Why do you assume I’ve done something wrong?” Adrien asked, hand over his heart.

“Because I know you, Cat,” Marinette said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

Adrien grinned sheepishly. “Well… I suppose it’s possible that I told everyone I’d come to find you and bring you straight back to school. You know, check in after the akuma attack…”

Marinette smacked her own forehead, and Adrien felt quietly relieved that she wasn’t entirely blaming him, even in jest.

“Okay, back out through the roof, let’s go,” Marinette sighed.

“Wait, what? Why can’t we just go downstairs?”

“Because we didn’t just come in downstairs! My parents don’t know we’re here. Now move it, Kitty!”

Marinette ushered Adrien up the ladder to her bed. The kwamis flew besides their holders, ready to help them transform. They had to urgently hide themselves, however, as Marinette’s trapdoor opened.

“Marinette, are you here? I thought I hear-” Tom was saying. He stopped entirely, however, as he looked up to see Adrien crawling on Marinette’s bed, with her climbing the ladder after him. When he spoke again, it was while trying to keep down a rising rage.

“What are you doing?”

The pair looked over like deer caught in headlights. Fortunately, Marinette swiftly saw things from Tom’s point of view.

“Oh, no, no, papa, this is not what it looks like!”

Adrien titled his head. “What does it look like?”

 

* * *

 

It took only a few minutes of talking and taking deep breaths for Marinette and Adrien to calm Tom down. Once he was safely returned to the bakery, they were able to make their way back to the school. Adrien pleaded for Marinette’s forgiveness while she turned away from him and pouted. It took less time for her to forgive him than it took to cross the road, and Marinette soon placed his arm around her shoulders.

Miss Bustier shook her head at Marinette as she approached, and Marinette apologised for her delay once again. Miss Bustier took in the sight before her, and couldn’t help but share a small smile.

The school was all but empty for the end of the day - Miss Bustier herself packed up to leave with Marinette and Adrien as they exited the classroom. Alya and Nino had waited for them in the courtyard.

“Hey, what took you so long, dudes?” Nino asked.

“Uh… mixup with Marinette’s dad,” Adrien said, flashing a grin.

Alya stepped back, scrutinising Marinette and Adrien. They and Nino all stared at Alya.

“Um, Alya, what are you-” Marinette began.

“Hold on a minute. Something’s different here,” Alya interrupted.

“Different? Different how?” Nino asked, spinning his head back round.

“How do you do that?” Marinette asked, without thinking. Once what she had said had hit her, she glanced up at Adrien and shrugged.

“Well, uh…” Adrien said. He looked down at Marinette, trying to desperately to think of any plausible story he could give, but he just found himself lost in her eyes.

“Wait… are you two together _for real_ now!?” Nino cried.

“Yeah…” Marinette sighed dreamily. Alya shrieked.

“I have _so many questions_ ! How!? What!? When!? _What about you-know-who_!?”

Adrien looked at Alya, smiled, and shrugged. “What we had was… kind of insane. I didn’t even know who she was, you know?”

Alya squinted, and stepped towards Adrien. She stared him in the eyes from inches away, and he started blinking rapidly.

“There’s no way you would be so casual about the end of such a big relationship - your first real relationship - and with-” Alya glanced around, and was satisfied that they were alone. “-with Ladybug! And then just immediately start dating Marinette? It doesn’t add up, there’s no way! The only explanation is-!”

Alya stepped back, stumbling. Nino had to hold her up. Her whole face had gone wide, staring now at Marinette.

“-is that dating Marinette didn’t change anything! Because you really are Ladybug!”

This proclamation was met with silence. Silence that lasted far too long for Marinette’s next words to convince anyone.

“Alya, come on, that’s… just crazy. Of course I’m not Ladybug,” she said, forcing herself to laugh. Inside, she was screaming at herself - first she and Adrien had revealed themselves to each other, now Alya and Nino would know!?

Adrien winced at how bad her lie was, and resolved to preserve as much of their secret as he could.

“Marinette! Is this true!? I can’t believe you never told me!” he declared.

Nino burst out laughing. “Wow, I can’t believe you were two of the main actors in the class play. What are you saying that for, anyway, you’re Cat Noir!”

At this, Adrien just gaped in horror. “How do you know _that_!?”

“Didn’t until you said that,” Nino said, grinning broadly.

“Oh, wow, this just makes way too much sense,” Alya said, walking in circles and apparently talking mostly to herself. “Of course. Did you just pick everyone in our class Marinette? Adrien’s Cat Noir, I’m Rena Rouge, Nino is Carapace…”

Nino and Adrien each did a double take.

“You’re Rena Rouge?” Nino said to Alya.

“You’re Carapace?” Adrien said to Nino.

“Next up you’ll tell me Chloé is Hawkmoth!” Alya cried.

“Uh, no, she’s Queen Bee, remember?” Marinette said. She had accepted that there was simply no way to keep denying the truth or the inevitable.

Alya groaned in frustration and pinched her temple. “Right. Of course.”

“You guys know you can’t tell anyone about this, right?” Adrien asked furtively. Alya frowned at him.

“Come on, are you kidding me? Of course we get it. Your secret’s safe with us… yet again.”

“Which is for the best, seeing as it’s clearly not safe with you!” Nino said. The four laughed, and turned to leave the school.

Alya and Nino made it through the doorway first. Adrien paused, letting them go on ahead. He tilted Marinette’s face up to his.

“I’m sorry they figured it out,” he sighed. He gave Marinette a small smile, simply accepting what had happened. Marinette beamed back at him.

“It’s okay, Adrien. I’m sorry I kept so much from you. From now on, we’re all in on this, together,” she said.

Adrien closed the distance, and kissed Marinette. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he around her back. Adrien started as Marinette lifted him a few inches off the ground, but he did not break the kiss. If anything, he deepened it.

“Hey! Are you coming?” Nino called up to them from the street.

“Quit making out with Adrien already, Marinette!” Alya jeered. Marinette pulled back in time to see Alya’s wink. She knew that Alya was almost as pleased as she was to see them together as they were.

“Sorry, we just had to make up for lost time,” Adrien said.

“Lost time? What, have you never kissed before?” Alya asked, as she and Nino walked back up the steps.

“Well, sure. Ladybug and Adrien have kissed plenty,” Marinette said. “But then there’s Adrien and Marinette…”

“And Ladybug and Cat Noir,” Adrien said.

“And Marinette and Cat Noir! And they’ve not kissed at all yet!” Marinette said, with a smile that was equally utterly innocent and pure evil.

Alya and Nino both groaned, and let their friends fall behind as Marinette and Adrien kissed again.

_For when the sun goes down and all is done_   
_These two together have love’s labour’s won_   
_For never was a tale of more joy_   
_Than this of Ladybug and her Pretty Boy_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH OH MY GOSH IT'S OVER
> 
> This is weird. I've been working on this for 7 months - I've only been watching the show for 10! I haven't written anything close to this long for 10 years.
> 
> I've had so much fun with it, getting to do so many things, explore so many tropes... I hope you've had fun too. I think if you're reading this at this point, putting up with my blathering, you probably have.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, thank you so much for so many lovely comments along the way.
> 
> As for what's next... I have a whole bunch of ideas. I'm hoping to do some drabbles for Christmas time, so keep an eye out for those in a few weeks. I've got a whole bunch of goofy ideas I'm looking forward to starting (because as much fun as this has been, I think my favourite part of writing these two is writing those early blushy moments ^_^), and a longer project I'm expecting to start in the new year to try to fix the major problems in certain episodes, one episode at a time...
> 
> Thank you again for coming on this journey with me, and I hope to see you again soon!


End file.
